


We're Different

by Firewhisperer13



Series: Lab Rats Series [1]
Category: Lab Rats (TV 2012)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Andriods, Bionics, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-09
Updated: 2015-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:55:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 22,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24739612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Firewhisperer13/pseuds/Firewhisperer13
Summary: Skai was found on the Davenport's doorstep, confused and alone. She can't remember exactly where she came from, but she remembers she had an abusive master. The Davenport family takes her in, playing her off as Bree's best friend. At first, Adam, Bree, Chase, Leo, and Mr. Davenport are the only people she trusts. However, soon she meets Marcus, and things change. But Marcus isn't who he says he is, and Skai's trust in him begins to waver.All Rights Reserved, Disney, 2012-13
Relationships: Marcus Davenport/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Lab Rats Series [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1788910





	1. Prologue

  
Bree's P.O.V  
Adam, Chase, Leo, and I were sitting together on the large white couch, watching a movie. Everything was fine. Sure, Principal Perry almost caught us using our bionics, but we stopped her before she could. And we're lucky we did. Otherwise, we wouldn't have been sitting here.  
The movie was just getting to its climax, where the villain and hero were facing off, when there was a scream, followed by a loud thump outside the door. The four of us shot up and looked at each other, eyes wide and terror flooding through us.  
"Did you guys hear that?" Leo quivered.  
"Y-yeah," I choked out.  
I was just about to stand up, when Mr. Davenport came racing down the stairs.  
"Mr. Davenport..." Chase stood and looked at him. "What was that?"  
"I-I'm not sure... But be prepared. You never know what's behind that door."  
He cautiously walked over to the door and set his hand on the door. Carefully and slowly, he turned the knob, and shot the door open.   
But no one was standing there.  
He looked left and right, trying to find whoever screamed, then looked down.  
And that's when we found her.  
  
Skai's P.O.V.  
"All systems online."  
Green ones and zeros flashed across my vision, until eventually, my system rebooted.  
"System rebooted. Powering up."  
I blinked my eyes open and my system began processing what I saw. There were five people, none of which I recognized, standing around me, looking right at me. I screamed, shocked, and fell back a bit. Luckily, I was sitting down, so I didn't fall onto the ground. I recovered from the shock and organized myself.  
"Who are all of you? What is this place? Why am I here?"  
The girl looked at me and offered a soft smile.  
"Uh, well, I'm Bree, and these are my brothers: Adam, Chase, and Leo. And this is our father."  
"Who are you?" The short, brown haired one asked hostilly. I shrunk back, feeling threatened.  
"Chase!" The girl named Bree slapped his arm. "Try to be nice."  
"We don't know who she is."  
"I-I'm Skai..."  
They all looked at me again.  
"I-I'm Skai," I said again. After that, my internal system kicked in. "Also known as model 28695. 28695's purpose was to be a test subject for-" My system began glitching and the name was missed. "-Her purpose was to be inserted with a bionic chip. The experiment was successful."  
Adam, Bree, and Chase looked at each other, shocked.  
"Y-you're bionic...?" Chase asked warily.  
My computer's control was lost and scared, afraid, lost Skai came back. I nodded shakily.  
"N-no way..." Bree's smile widened. "So are we..."  
I looked at all of them, surprised.  
"Skai..." The adult spoke up. "Do you remember where you came from?"  
I nodded.  
"Well... sort of. I-it was dark... and there were so many others... but they're all dead now... and Master... he would... he would..." I couldn't finish my sentence.  
"Skai, where specifically are you from?"  
"A-a place named Hart Laboratories..."  
"Anything else you remember?"   
I shook my head.  
"Well, if you don't know where you're from, we can't return you..."  
"Hey, maybe she could stay with us for a while," Bree smiled.  
Hope filled me as Mr. Davenport nodded


	2. 1

"Come on, Skai! We're gonna be late if you don't hurry up!"  
"Oh, give her a minute!" Bree called down the stairs. She took her hands off my eyes and I instantly smiled at what I saw. Bree had insisted on giving me a makeover for my first day of school, and she had done well. She had dyed my hair red, to match the colors of my outfit. I wore a red and black shirt that bunched up and then flared out, and a red and black lacy skirt. My shoes looked like black sneakers, but they had heels on them. She's also given me red fingerless gloves and a red beanie, along with red glasses, since it was discovered my vision function had been impaired.  
"Wow Bree..." I smiled. "I look great... Thanks so much."  
"It was no problem. Now come on. We've got to get to school! Race you to the bottom of the stairs?"  
I nodded and we both super-speeded off. Once again, I beat Bree to the bottom, but she still had this wide smile. Chase, Adam, and Leo rolled their eyes at our childishness, but we both shrugged it off and walked out the door. The other three quickly followed, and as we walked, Adam, Bree, Chase, and Leo filled me in on what I was supposed to do.  
"Alright. So if anyone asks, you're a friend of Bree's staying with us for a while," Leo told me. I nodded.  
"And whatever you do, you cannot use your bionics at school, tell people you're bionic, or tell people you're an android. Got it?" Chase gave me something akin to a death glare. I sheepishly nodded.  
"Oh, and whatever you do, do _not_ tick Principal Perry off," Adam cut in. "She's vicious."  
"What does she do?" I asked.  
"You don't want to know." Bree's eyes were wide, so I decided to drop it.   
Before I knew it, we'd arrived at school. Bree quickly dragged me away to show me around, and the boys went to go talk to some kid with a guitar. But instead of showing me around, Bree dragged me into a corner, and spun me around. She aimed me right at the boy Adam and Chase were talking to.  
"Bree, what are you-"  
The boy began playing on his guitar. Really well. He hit every note perfectly and finished it off right.  
"Wow..." I sighed.  
He, Adam, Chase, and eventually, Leo, began talking, and soon, the boy handed Chase his guitar. He looked at the instrument for a few seconds, then began playing advanced level lines. He played like a rock star, and to finish it off, slid onto the floor on his knees and finished off his solo. He then looked around, embarrassed, and handed the guitar back to the boy.  
"Go talk to him," Bree urged me.  
"Who, Chase? I would, but I'm afraid I'd die of boredom."  
Bree laughed.  
"No, that new kid. Go!"  
With that, she shoved me away and I stumbled. The four guys looked at me, and I composed myself awkwardly, then walked over to them.  
"Oh, hey Skai," Adam smiled.  
"Hey Adam."  
"Oh, Marcus. This is our sister Bree's friend," Chase introduced.  
"Hi, I'm Skai."  
"I'm Marcus." He stuck his hand out and I shook it.  
"Skai's staying with us for a while, since her parents are away."  
I opened my mouth to say something, when a piercing ring interrupted me.  
"What was that?" I asked.  
" _That_ was the school bell, Skai," Leo answered sarcastically. "You go to class now."  
"What class?"  
Leo, Chase, and Adam face palmed, but Marcus jumped down from where he was sitting.  
"You got your schedule?" He asked.  
I nodded and pulled out my phone, pulling up a picture of my schedule. He smiled once he looked at it.  
"We have the same first class. And the same lunch."  
"Nice!"  
"Care to attempt to find where we're going together?"  
I laughed at his joke.  
"It'd be my pleasure."


	3. 2

"So me and my dad moved around a lot. I was home schooled most of my life," Marcus continued.  
Third lunch had begun, and I was sitting next to Marcus, along with Adam and Chase. There had been an awkward silence at first, but soon, we were all talking like old friends.  
"No way!" Adam piped up. "So were we. We are so similar. Do you have a third nipple too?"  
Marcus, Chase, and I all made disgusted faces, then Chase moved on in the conversation.  
"Anyway... That's a pretty sweet guitar, Marcus." Chase pointed at the sleek, black electric guitar he was holding.  
"Yeah, and you're a natural, bro!" He paused for a moment, then shared an idea. "Guys, we should start a band!"  
"Oh, that's a great idea!" Adam began drumming his chopsticks against the table. "But what would I play?" He began drumming them faster, then stopped, throwing his arms up in the air. "I got it!.... No, I don't got it..."  
I face palmed.  
"I think you're gonna be our drummer, Adam," Marcus said.  
"Hmm. Interesting choice. I had been pondering the French Horn."  
Chase, Marcus, and I all looked at each other with 'he's an idiot' looks on our faces, then moved on.  
"Oh, sorry Skai!" Marcus sighed. "I totally forgot about you. You wanna play an instrument?"  
I shook my head.  
"No thanks. I'd rather be in the background, doing nothing..." My eyes shifted down to my shoes.  
"Really? Can you play any instruments?"  
I shook my head.  
"Actually, Skai's a really great singer," Chase piped up.  
"Chase, don't," I hissed.  
"Oh really? Well, could I maybe hear you sing something?"  
I looked at Marcus and knew I couldn't say no. His brown eyes were too full of hope. I sang softly, but loud enough so he could hear me.  
_"''Cuz you're everywhere to me. And when I close my eyes it's you I see. You're everything I know that makes me believe that I'm not alone...'"_  
I trailed off at the end and looked up at him. I expected to see some sort of look of disgust or hatred, but he had the widest smile plastered onto his face.  
"That was beautiful! Chase was right, you are a great singer. Hey, maybe you could be our singer."  
"Oh, no thanks, Marcus. But I'll watch your rehearsals, if you want."  
"Yes, please do!"  
He and I looked at each other for a moment, and I took the time to really analyze his features. His pale face was littered with freckles, his brown eyes full of love and wonder. His rich brown hair was gelled over in a way where it was slightly raised, but not by much.   
Our moment was broken by Leo sitting down at our table, next to Adam.  
"Hey Leo, guess what?" Chase smiled. "Marcus and Adam and I are forming a band."  
"Well, you guys just met. Don't you think it's a little soon?"  
"A little soon for what? Taking the deeply committed step of jamming together?"  
"Now of we could just find some place to practice," Marcus chimed in. "I live in a pretty small place, so..."  
"Oh, I know a place." Adam stood up. "The Lab."   
My head shot up and Chase, Leo, and I glared at Adam, who quickly caught himself.  
"O-oh! Labrador Retriever park. Yeah, the dog park. Nice acoustics. Plus, they have dogs." He leaned close to me. "Saved it," he whispered. I responded by rolling my eyes.  
"Well.. you know, Marcus, we have a pretty big place," Chase spoke up. "We can all just jam there."   
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold your horses, cowboy." Leo stood up and pointed an accusing finger at Chase. He then walked over and pulled the two of them away, leaving Marcus and I alone. We were silent for a few moments before he spoke.  
"So, Skai... where do you actually live. You know, since you're staying with the Davenports."  
"Oh, right," I chuckled. "Well, I live a few miles from here, so I usually have to take the bus in the morning." He nodded. "What about you? Where have you lived before?"  
"Don't you think it's a bad idea to let a total stranger into our _very_ private home?" We heard Leo say. Marcus stood.  
"That's alright guys. We don't have to jam." Marcus' voice began breaking. "Not everyone needs a bright spot in their otherwise horrible life."  
"Oh, look Leo," I groaned. "You're making him feel bad." I stood and walked around the other side, meeting his eyes. He weakly smiled at me.  
"Don't worry Marcus," Chase cut in. "We'll practice at our place later. Come on over."  
"Great. See you guys after school."  
Marcus grabbed his bag and walked away, waving at me as he ran off. I waved back, then turned my attention to the other boys.  
"You guys are making a big mistake," Leo sighed. "I mean, you've only been in the real world for a little while. There's still a lot of stuff you don't know."  
"Look, Leo," Chase shot back. "I'm not gonna run my playdates past _you._ Hello? Genius!" He gestured to himself.  
"Playdates? Really?" I sighed.  
"What you have is book smarts. I have street smarts. And I gotta watch what's happening on the street."  
"Oh, Leo! Relax!" Adam reassured him. "We are not going to be playing in the street. We're going to be playing in the house." He pushed past Leo to get closer to Chase and I. "This guy." He pointed at Leo. I groaned and rolled my eyes at Adam's stupidity.  
"Adam... you truly are an idiot. I'm glad _my_ super strength also came with super smarts."  
Adam was about to retort, when the first bell rang. I quickly scooped up my bag and ran off.


	4. 3

I sat on a section of the couch, smiling and doing homework as I listened to the guys practice. They were really good for a first time band. It was impressive. I finished with my final math problem as their song finished. Perfectly ironic timing.  
"Well, it's only our first day, but you guys sound great," Marcus smiled. "I think you both have real raw talent."  
"Oh, well if our talent is raw, then we better get cooking." Adam played a rim shot on his drum set. I rolled my eyes, but smiled at the stupid joke. I looked over to see Leo standing right behind Marcus. Marcus obviously sensed it, as he turned around and glared at Leo, not even jumping.  
"Leo, what are you doing?" I sighed.  
"Just asking Marcus a few questions. Where were you born? What is your birthday? Who is the president of Venezuela?!"  
Marcus raised an eyebrow at him.  
"I don't know."  
"Ah ha! So he's _not_ from Venezuela..."  
"He never said he was..." I trailed off.  
"Okay, that's it," Chase sighed. "This practice just became band members only."  
"Well then, I guess I'm on the band."  
"Leo, you don't even know how to play an instrument."  
"That's where you're wrong."  
Leo raced away to get an instrument, and I stood.  
"Alright. If this practice is members only, then I guess I should get going. I'll go talk to Bree for a while."  
I turned to leave, when I strong arm grabbed onto my wrist. I turned to see Marcus grabbing onto my arm.   
"Skai. You don't _have_ to go, of you don't want to... I mean, I'm sure Adam and Chase wouldn't mind you staying..."  
I didn't even glance at the other two. I smiled sadly at Marcus and walked upstairs. Bree was up there, hanging out in my room. Mr. Davenport didn't have room in his lab for me, so he gave me a bedroom and built some new charging equipment for me to use.  
"Hey Bree," I smiled.  
Bree looked up from her magazine and suddenly focused all her attention on me.  
"Hey, Skai! How was your date with your band geek boyfriend."  
I scoffed and sat down.  
"Bree, he's not my boyfriend, and that wasn't a date. It was just me hanging out with Adam, Chase, and Marcus while they practiced their music and I did my homework."  
Bree rolled her eyes.  
"Are you kidding me? It's so obvious that he likes you!"  
"Bree!" I resisted the urge to grab her shoulders and shake her. "He and I have barely talked. We had one private conversation, and I had to lie about the answer."  
"What? Why? What did he ask you?"  
"He asked me where I 'usually live.'"  
She sighed.  
"What did you say?"  
"I said I come from a few miles from here, but I don't go to this school."  
Bree nodded.  
"Alright." She paused for a moment, as if contemplating something, then spoke. "Skai, you've got to be careful. Marcus may be an innocent kid, but you never know when you'll accidentally let something slip. I mean, you may not be human, but even you might let something slip."  
I sighed and collapsed onto a soft, white chair.  
"Bree, if he does... you know, like me... what should I do?"  
Bree looked at me like I had just asked what she would do if I committed suicide.  
"Uh... well... it depends on whether you like him or not." She sat up and looked at me. "What do you like about him."  
"Hmm... well, his eyes are beautiful... and his hair looks nice. He's really smart, but he's also cool, you know? He's not, like, Chase smart, where you're all brains and no brawn or fun."  
Bree laughed.  
"It sure seems like there might be something brewing in there." She could barely contain her smile.  
"Bree..." I sighed and decided not to say what I was going to. "I just want to give it some more time before I determine whether I like him or not, alright?"  
Bree nodded, but she was bouncing.  
"And please, Bree. _Don't_ speak a word of this. Don't give him any idea that I like him. Please!"  
Bree nodded, and I relaxed into the chair.


	5. 4

I heard a loud noise coming from downstairs, sounding almost like something being smashed. Bree had gone down to talk to Mr. Davenport about career day, and since she was down in the Lab, she probably didn't hear it. I rushed downstairs, deciding to investigate the noise myself. When I went downstairs, I was greeted with the sight of a shocked, saddened looking Marcus, and an equally shocked Leo, holding a smashed guitar.  
_Marcus'_ smashed guitar.  
"What is wrong with you?" Marcus yelled, on the verge of tears, as I entered the room, along with Adam and Chase.  
"No! He... not... uh... ohh..." Leo stuttered. I stared at him, shocked at what he had just done. I hadn't known Leo for too long, but I knew that he would never do something like this.  
Unless, of course, he was jealous of Marcus slowly working his way into our lives as a friend. He must think of Marcus as some sort of replacement for him. Otherwise he wouldn't do what he had just done...  
...right?  
"Leo, why would you break his guitar?" Chase asked, putting emphasis on 'break' and 'guitar.'  
"No. No, no, no. That's what he wants you to think," Leo accused. "He broke it and gave it to me. He's the breaker and I'm the breakee!"  
"That's crazy!" Marcus cried. "Why would I break my own guitar?"  
"Look, Leo," Chase sighed. "I would like to believe you... I really would. But you do break things _a lot_."  
"That's not true. I mean, yes, _that's_ true, but not this time!"  
Adam came forward and placed a hand on his brother's shoulder.  
"Leo, this reminds me of a boy named 'Wolf.' Who cried _a lot."_ I face palmed at Adam's stupid memory of these fairy tales. "And after that, his friends never believed him. And then, his grandmother _ate_ him."  
"Oh come on!" I cried, bringing my hand out of my head. "That's not even close Adam!"  
"Fine," Leo sighed. "But this goes deeper than a broken guitar. I _will_ prove my innocence and show you he's up to no good. I'm gonna go all C.S.I. on this one." He flailed his arms around in an odd way, then walked away. I looked at Marcus and sighed.  
"I apologize for Leo's craziness. He's a good kid, he just... goes a bit crazy sometimes, you know?"  
Marcus nodded, still upset. I placed a hand on his shoulder.  
"Everything's gonna be alright," I smiled. Marcus sighed.  
"No, it's not. Chase, Adam, and I are supposed to play at Career Day tomorrow, and now I don't have a guitar now."   
I sighed.  
"I can talk to Mr. Davenport. Maybe, since you admire him for some reason, he'll let you borrow a guitar."  
"He owns a guitar."  
"He owns way too many guitars. Seriously, he needs a hobby."  
Marcus chuckled, then spoke.  
"Thanks, Skai. You're amazing."  
"No problem," I smiled.  
Before I could react, he pulled me into a brief hug. I hugged back, and as soon as he felt that, he walked over and grabbed his bags. With a brief wave, he walked out the door and went home. I glanced at Adam and Chase, then walked up to my room. I collapsed into a chair and began reading a book.


	6. 5

A few hours later, Leo called everyone involved with the guitar incident. I crossed my arms, annoyed, as Leo stepped forwards and looked at Adam, Chase, and myself with craziness in his eyes.   
"I'm telling you. Marcus is playing some kind of twisted, psychological game, and I can prove it. Exhibit A:" Leo held up a small piece of plastic, "I lifted a fingerprint from Marcus' guitar."  
Adam, Chase, and I glanced at each other, then turned back to Leo, slow clapping.  
"Oh, that is fantastic, Leo," Chase said sarcastically. "You proved without a shadow of a doubt that Marcus' guitar is-" he gasped, "-his!"  
"True... but he then removed said guitar and deliberately- deliberately, mind you- smashed it." Exhibit B:" he pulled out a plastic bag full of random crap, "Paint chips and a hair."  
"Ooh." Adam sounded disgusted.  
"...which just happened to be my mom's. Nonetheless, we know she did not do this!"  
"Leo," Chase stepped forward, "are you afraid that, by us befriending Marcus, there won't be any room left for you?"  
"What? No, are you kidding me? I'm awesome!" He stood up in some sort of heroic pose. "That guy's bad news."  
I sighed.  
"Don't worry, Leo. You're still our best friend. But you can't have a best friend unless you have a friend who's a not best friend. Okay? So he does fill a void," Adam pointed out.  
"That's not what this is about..." Leo groaned.  
"Look, Leo," Chase sighed, "we'll talk about this later, okay? Adam and I have to go meet Marcus. We're gonna be late for the concert."  
"Wait, concert? You guys are playing a concert?" Chase nodded. "...and Marcus will be there?" Chase nodded again. "Uh, I'll be right back." I super-speeded up the steps and quickly changed into an outfit that wasn't akin to sweat pants and a raggedy t-shirt. I quickly used my visual manipulation to make my hair look black with pink, blue, and green streaks. I raced back down the steps and met with Adam and Chase.  
"Alright! Let's go!"  
"Why do you care how you look so much all of a sudden?" Adam sighed.   
"I don't know... Marcus is kind of cute, I guess." Adam and Chase rolled their eyes as we got into the car.  
  
"Hey, Marcus," I smiled as we approached. "What's up?"  
"Hey, Skai," he blushed. Adam and Chase gave a small greeting and then walked away to set up the gear. "Mr. Davenport is letting me use his guitar for the concert."  
"Yeah, I heard. I'm kinda in that household for the time being, remember?"  
He chuckled.  
"Oh yeah, right..." He picked up the guitar and looked at it as I came over.  
"You know, I've never actually played a guitar before, but I've always wanted to."  
"Seriously?" He walked over to me. "Well, we've got some time before the concert. I could teach you."  
"Yeah, sure!" He handed the guitar to me and I slipped the strap over my head. Marcus came over and grabbed my hands.   
"Alright... so you put one hand here-" he placed it on the neck of the guitar. "-and the other you use to pluck the strings. Now, the basic strings are..." he reached around my waist and moved my hand on the strings. "...E... A... D... G... B... and E again." I giggled.  
"Why's E on there twice?"  
Marcus shrugged.  
"I didn't invent the guitar. I just play it." He began moving my hand along the strings, lightly strumming them, when I turned back to look at him. He did the same, and soon we were looking each other in the eyes. I blinked for a few seconds, and then he shut his. I did the same, and we slowly began moving closer, until I caught myself. I jerked away and moved farther from Marcus.   
"Uh... I'm sorry..." I muttered. "I don't know... what that was..."  
Marcus swallowed hard and then smiled.  
"Skai... I don't care what that was... I wanted to finish it."  
I turned to look at him, and he walked closer. I took the guitar off of me and put it to the side. He came close and grabbed me by the shoulders, inching closer. Our lips were just about to meet when we heard Adam's voice.  
"Hey Marcus, Skai." We both quickly jerked away, embarrassed. "What's up?"  
"Uh, nothing..." I blushed. "Marcus was just trying to teach me how to play guitar."  
"Really?" Chase sounded slightly annoyed. "It looked more like something else." I looked down at the floor. "Come on, Marcus. It's time for the concert." As the boys passed by, Chase hissed in my ear. "We're talking about this when we get home."  
I sighed and looked at the floor, then followed them into the gym.


	7. 6

The four of us walked into the gym with the boys' equipment and set it off in the corner. We walked over to Mr. Davenport, and he noticed us and smiled.  
"Hello Mr. Davenport," I smiled greeting him.  
"Hi, Skai, Marcus. How are you two doing?"  
"Great!" I replied. "I heard you have some sort of 'magical device' that the boys are going to use for their concert."  
The corners of Mr. Davenport's eyes crinkled as he smiled.  
"What did they tell you?" He laughed. "It's no magical device. _This_ -" he held up a small disk, "-is the result of a genius working hard and creating just as genius technology." I rolled my eyes at his inflated ego.  
"What does it do?" It pained me to keep the conversation going, but I knew he'd bug me if I didn't.  
"You'll have to see in a moment. Guys?" He looked at the three boys. "You ready?"  
They nodded and walked over to grab their instruments. They set up the amps and drums, and before they started, Marcus came over and grabbed me by the shoulders.  
"Skai, I need to talk to you after the concert. It's urgent."  
I nodded, my heart suddenly racing.  
"Marcus!"  
We both looked over to see Chase glaring at us, looking at me like he was going to murder me. I sighed.  
"You've got to go," I whispered.  
"Yeah. I think Chase is going to kill me for this." I giggled at that response.  
"He'll probably get to me first," I chuckled.  
Before Marcus walked away, he gave me a chaste kiss on the cheek. I stood there, shocked and amazed, as Marcus walked up onto the stage, and before the lights went down, he smiled at me. I placed my hand on my cheek, then quickly scurried over to Bree. I was about to start squealing, when I noticed she seemed... upset.  
"Where have you _been?_ " She practically screamed at Mr. Davenport. "Have you been over there with the boys the entire time. I should have known... You _always_ do things with them."  
"Bree, that is so not true," he protested.  
"And now, for your Career Day entertainment, concert in a can... can... can... Featuring Adam, Marcus, and Chase... Chase... Chase..."  
"Okay, I had nothing to do with that whatsoever. I-"  
"Brought to you by Donald Davenport... port... port..."  
"Hmm... It kind of sounds like you did... did... did..."  
Bree rolled her eyes and turned to me, clearly annoyed with her father. Her eyes brightened when she saw my new look.  
"Wow, Skai... You look awesome!" Her bad mood seemed to lighten up as she took in what I was wearing. "How'd you change your hair?"  
"Oh, I discovered that I have visual manipulation. My hair's still red, but I can make anything look any way I want."  
"That's so cool! You're lucky. All I have is this super-speed, and to be honest, it's not really that useful."  
"What are you talking about? It makes you super flexible!"  
"Yeah, but you're flexible, too. Whoever this 'Hart' guy was, he knew what he was doing."  
I sighed.  
"I just hope he was doing it for good reason." I had almost completely forgotten about the reason I came over, but as soon as I saw Marcus up there, playing his guitar, I remembered. "Oh yeah! You'll never guess, Bree. Marcus kissed me on the cheek."  
Her eyes went wide, and her smile somehow got wider.  
"Skai, that's amazing! Oh, you're _so_ going to end up together!"  
I scoffed, and opened my mouth to speak, when Mr. Davenport came over. I walked away, allowing them to have their father-daughter moment, and moved to a place where Marcus could meet me. The music ended, and the guys practically jumped off stage, elated. They raced over to where I was, and Marcus swallowed me up into a hug. The moment, however, was ruined as soon as Chase noticed it.  
"Skai," he hissed, "I need to talk to you for a moment."  
My cheeks flared red as I walked over with Chase to talk to him.  
"Yes, Chase?" I sighed, annoyed.  
"You can't like Marcus," he barked. "We don't know if we can fully trust him, and it might distract him. The band is top priority for the three of us, alright?"  
"Chase, you can't tell Marcus what's important to him or not! This isn't some J-Pop band: he's allowed to like people. Just calm down!"  
I angrily stormed back to Marcus and Adam. They looked at me like I was insane.  
"Skai, are you alright?" Adam asked.  
"Yeah, I'm fine. Chase is just being a killjoy."  
Marcus sighed and pulled me into his arms, facing the group. Chase came over, seemingly annoyed, and things only got worse when Leo came over, holding some tablet. I rolled my eyes as he walked over with determination and craziness in his eyes.  
"What is it Leo?" Marcus sighed.  
"Well, well, well... If it isn't my old friend Marcus."  
"What does that have to do with what Marcus asked?" I sighed.  
"Sorry Leo," Marcus let go of me and got closer to Leo, "you're too late. We've safely packed away all the guitars. Maybe you can find something else to break. Ha ha ha!" His face turned serious again. "'Cause you broke the guitar."  
"Excuse me, I would like everyone's attention here." It was only our group left, so there really wasn't any reason to say that. We were already paying attention. "I have proof from our home security system that Marcus is guilty."  
"Hi!" The chipper, annoying voice of Eddy played as his image came onto the tablet screen.  
"Now watch as I-"  
"I have a confession to make!"  
All of us looked at Marcus, confusion and suspicion crossing our faces.  
"Oh no you don't!"  
"I broke the guitar," Marcus sighed.  
"That's not fair!" Leo whined. "I was going to crack this case wide open!"  
"Ha!" Eddy laughed. "He got you again!"  
"What's going on here?" Mr. Davenport came over and looked at us suspiciously.  
"I broke my guitar and blamed it on Leo. I owe everyone an apology."  
"You broke the guitar?" Chase spoke up. "Why didn't you just say so?"  
"Because I had already cracked the guitar, but if my dad knew I broke it I'd be in so much trouble because my family is so poor and I just want everyone to like me because I'm always the new kid, so I made everyone think that Leo did it because I'm so scared and it's so hard to make friends, and I'm just a dumb kid compared to all of you, and my grandma just died!" Marcus broke down in tears after he finished. I walked over and put my hand on his shoulder.  
"Are you crying?" Mr. Davenport asked. "Is he crying?"  
"It's okay, Marcus," Bree assured him.  
"Yeah, it's no big deal," Mr. Davenport added.  
"We don't think you're dumb," Chase smiled.  
"Yeah, and your grandma didn't die," Adam finished. Bree, Chase, Mr. Davenport, and Leo mouthed words at him while I smacked his arm. Adam didn't seem to pick up on the hint and went on in blissful ignorance.  
"Marcus, why don't you come out and have dinner with us?" Mr. Davenport offered.  
"Mm-kay. You guys go ahead." Marcus sniffled and wiped his eyes, looking up. "I want to apologize to Leo."  
We all nodded and walked out. Before I did, I kissed him on the cheek. He smiled and looked at me.  
"Paying you back for earlier," I smiled.  
"You missed," he joked. I rolled my eyes and walked out with the rest of the family. I smiled at all of them, and they did the same, with the exception of Chase, who seemed to be angry with me.  
"Hey, guys!" Marcus called after not too long. "Wait up!"  
Marcus came running out of the gym, with Leo following. He slung an arm around my shoulder and all of us walked out.  
"See? I knew you were a good guy..." I sighed, looking at him.  
_Oh, how wrong I was...._


	8. 7

The bell rang and Adam, Bree, Chase, and I exited history class. I walked as far away from Chase as possible, on account of me liking Marcus. For some reason, that really upset him. We walked downstairs and into the main lobby of Mission Creek High, glad the school day was over.  
"Oh, I _love_ history class!" Adam smiled as Leo came over to us. "Someone's always leaving me a piece of gum stuck under my desk!"  
"Adam, please tell me you didn't..." Just as the last word escaped my mouth, Adam blew a large bubble and popped it, causing me to gag.  
"Mm-hmm..." Chase sighed, disgusted.  
"He did. He totally did..." Bree gagged.  
I looked over, desperate to look away from Adam and his under-the-desk gum. When I did, I noticed Marcus coming over to us. Leo, noticed too, and his face dropped into a snarl.  
"Oh guys, don't look now, but here comes that guy that none of us like. Marcus." He growled the last word.  
"M-dog!" We all cried, looking up at him. His face brightened and he came over, quickly being embraced by the four of us. Adam, Bree, and Chase broke free and Marcus slung his arm around me before I could get away. I blushed and chuckled.  
"You can let go, you know?"  
"I _can,_ but that doesn't mean I have to," he teased.  
"Wait. Hold the phone. Hold the phone. Hold the freaky-deaky phone." He pulled Marcus' arm off of me. "'M-dog?'"  
"Yeah, bro's call each other by nicknames." Chase could not have sounded lamer, no matter how he said that sentence.  
"Well, I'm your actual bro, and you don't call _me_ by a nickname."  
"Actually, we do," Adam snickered. "We just choose not to do it in your presence, Mr. Tiny Mclittlestein." I couldn't help but laugh at the nickname as Marcus snaked his arm back around me. I rolled my eyes but didn't shrug it off.  
"Hey Marcus, what are you up to this weekend?" Chase asked, changing the subject.  
"Ah, my dad's out of town so I'll have to stay with my grandma." His gaze lowered, seeming upset.  
"Aha!" Leo cried. "You said your grandma was dead."  
"The other grandma, but thanks for reminding me..." Marcus' eyes got watery, but he shook it off. "I wish I could stay with you guys this weekend."  
"And I wish you weren't a spastic sociopath with abandonment issues."  
"Leo, give it a rest," I sighed.  
"Skai, none of us are safe until the FBI responds to my request on a background check on this 'M-dog.'"  
"Look, Marcus. I'm sure you can stay with us," Chase sighed. "I'll just check with Mr. Davenport."  
"You guys call your dad Mr. Davenport?" Marcus looked beyond confused, and we had to come up with something fast.  
"Uh, no...Pssh... _No._ But _you_ do, and I wanted to make sure you knew who I was talking about."  
I face-palmed and some of my curly, blue hair pooled around my hand.  
"Okay, cool. Thanks guys." Before Marcus left, he planted a chaste kiss on my cheek. I rolled my eyes, but I couldn't hide the smile on my face.  
"Are you two dating or something?" Adam asked absentmindedly.  
"No," I sighed, "but I have a _sneaking_ suspicion he likes me."  
Bree chuckled at my sarcasm. I looked over at Chase, and he looked annoyed.  
"Chase, I don't understand why you don't like this. There's nothing wrong with people liking each other."  
"I just don't want you and Marcus seeing each other as priority, alright?"  
"Relax, Chase. You guys _rescued_ me from... wherever I came from. You guys have been priority since I powered back up in your house. Besides, you four are the only ones that know about me being an android. That's something I might have to tell Marcus _eventually,_ but not now. You guys are special to me."   
"Aww, Skai's getting all mushy," Bree teased, elbowing me in the stomach lightly.  
"Shut up," I laughed, pushing my black glasses back up my nose.  
"Bree, watch out!" Chase cried suddenly. He swept out his arm just as a football neared us, when the ball suddenly flew far away from us and bounced in the corner. All of us stood there in awe, and Chase turned to face us, eyes wide.  
"What just happened?" I asked, voice shaking a little.  
"Did you just..." Adam didn't even finish his question.  
"I think I just moved that ball with my mind..." Chase looked almost afraid.  
"I didn't know you could do that," Leo gaped.  
"Neither did I..."  
"Man, if you can do that with your mind, I wonder what I can do with mine..." Adam put his hand on his temple and I rolled my eyes.  
"We've been wondering that for years," Bree sighed, patting Adam on the back. We all walked out of the building to end the school day.


	9. 8

"Chase, this is amazing!" Leo cried as the five of us entered the Lab. He was still oogiling over Chase's newly discovered ability. "You can move things with your mind! You're like a really cool magician. You know, if there _was_ such a thing as a really cool magician."  
I set down my bag and sat in the spinning chair at a desk near Mr. Davenport's main console.  
"It doesn't make any sense," Chase rambled. "It was probably just a fluke. I mean, it's not like everything around me is going to start flying through the air." He moved his hand as he said that, and things flew to the left. I ducked and covered my head, hoping to not get hit by the impending objects. "Uh oh."  
"I'm gonna go tell Mr. Davenport about this," Bree said, walking towards the elevator.  
"What? No, wait!" Bree stopped in her tracks and looked towards Chase. "If this is a glitch, and Mr. Davenport finds out, he won't let me go to school anymore. Let me tap into his Cyberdesk and see if I can find anything." He started typing things into the high-tech desk when my phone buzzed. I looked down at it to see that Marcus had texted me.  
'Hey.'  
I smiled and unlocked my phone.  
'Hello!'  
'So I wanted to ask you something...'  
My heart began racing.  
'What is it?'  
'Uh, you know what, this is more something I should ask you in person. If I can stay over, can I ask you then?'  
'Yeah, sure.'  
"Whoa, guys..." I put down my phone and walked over to Chase. I looked over the files he had dug up and my eyes went wide. "...this isn't a glitch. I can move objects by manipulating the energy around them. I've unlocked a hidden ability called molecular kinesis."  
"That's so cool!" I cried, smiling and looking at the files closer.  
"Chase, I'm going to need you to unlock you ability to use smaller words." I rolled my eyes and Chase moved on.  
"According to this, we _all_ have hidden abilities!"  
"What?" Bree shoved Chase to the side a bit and looked over what he had brought up.   
"What are they?" Adam stood next to me and looked at the screen.  
"I don't know. Let me see." He began scrolling through the files, but an error message quickly came up and Chase gave up. "Oh no... It's shutting us out. Mr. Davenport must have put a security lock on it. I'm sorry guys, I guess we'll have to discover them on our own."  
"Fine!" Bree groaned, walking over to the chain I had been sitting in.  
"Ooh! Maybe my new ability is that I can speak Russian." I sighed as Adam began walking in stealth mode for some reason. "Testing... testing... Is this Russian?"  
"Keep looking," I sighed. Adam simply gave up and stood up straight again. "Hey, we should go ask Mr. Davenport about having Marcus stay over now. We don't want it to be too late."  
"Oh yeah!" Adam began walking towards the elevator. "Let's go!"  
  
"Hey, Mr. Davenport." After I had gotten his attention, Adam actually asked him.  
"Is it okay if Marcus spends the weekend here? His dad is away and he doesn't want to spend it with his not-dead-grandma." Mr. Davenport looked utterly confused.  
"Just go with it," I sighed.  
"No," Leo cried, "don't do it. Marcus is an evil, two-faced liar. Also, a Sagittarius. They're shifty."  
" _I'm_ a Sagittarius," Bree defended.  
"I rest my case." The doorbell rang as Mr. Davenport gave his answer. I walked over to the door to answer it.  
"You know, guys, this is really not a great weekend... for visitors. I got a lot of stuff..."  
I opened the door to reveal Marcus standing there with overnight stuff.  
"Marcus..." Chase's voice went to a guilty frequency. "What a surprise... We were just talking about you."  
"Yeah, let me catch you up to speed," Leo said, making his way over to us. "You're two-faced and nobody likes you. Bye-bye!" Leo tried to shove him out the door, but Marcus shook him off.  
"I love this little guy. He's so full of fire!" Marcus was clearly trying to hide his annoyance. He walked closer to Mr. Davenport. "Mr. Davenport, my father left before my grandma got there and I was all alone and this is the only place I feel safe, and... please don't make me leave!"  
Mr. Davenport looked at all of us, and when he saw my pleading look, he caved.  
"Yeah, okay, okay. You can stay."  
Suddenly, something beeped and we all looked at Mr. Davenport. He looked down at his phone, and then his head shocked back up. Something was urgent.  
"What is that?" Marcus asked.  
"That, uh... that means it's... it's happy time. How about you stay here and be happy, and we'll be happy over there?" Chase grabbed me by the arm and him, Leo, Adam, Bree, and myself crowded around Mr. Davenport. "Guys that was the mission alert system. We have to go down to the Lab _immediately._ Leo, distract Marcus."  
"What? No-no, no!"  
"Uh, Marcus, we'll be right back," Bree spoke up. "We have to go... pick up a pizza."  
"All of you?" He asked.  
"It's an extra large," Adam said suspiciously. With the exception of Leo, we raced down to the Lab. I hoped nothing bad would happen, but at the same time I was excited.  
This was going to be my first mission!


	10. 9

Alarms were blaring off the hook, only elevating the panic of the situation. We congregated around Mr. Davenport at his console while he researched the problem.  
"There's a crisis at my space station."  
"You have a space station?" Chase marveled.  
" _Yeah_ ," Mr. Davenport stated cockily. "I'm building the world's first intergalactic tourist destination. Key words 'first' and 'tourist.' Ka-ching!" He pulled up a schematic of the station and the three of us looked at it in shock. "Watch the Earth rise from your hotel room as you enjoy all the comforts of home, like oxygen and gravity."  
"Alright, if I was given the option, I would _not_ want gravity," I joked. Everyone looked at me oddly and I shut up.  
"Man, I have always wanted to go to space!" Chase stated excitedly.  
"Yeah, well you're about to get your wish." Mr. Davenport typed in something on his keyboard to pull up a current schematic of the space station. "A meteor shower struck the station, and an asteroid breached the hull. It's gassing out. If we don't do something quick, it's going to re-enter Earth's atmosphere and disintegrate with all my crew members on board."  
"Our first rescue mission-in space!" Adam cried. "Wait! From now on, I'm going to need you all to call me by my nickname, Space Cadet."  
Bree patted her brother on the back reassuringly.  
"I've got news for you, buddy. We've been calling you by your nickname for years." The look on Adam's face was please, but I knew that what Bree had said was an insult.  
"Okay, you guys don't have much training for space, but people's lives are in danger, so I'll talk you through it." Mr. Davenport handed all of us ear pieces, and we put them in. My excitement grew every second. "Chase, as usual, you are our mission leader. Now, your mission suits are not equipped for zero gravity, so there are space suits in the shuttle. Lift off is in ten minutes."  
"What about Marcus?" I asked worriedly.  
"I don't _know._ I guess I'm going to have to call his not dead grandmother." Mr. Davenport walked towards the console and Bree pulled Chase aside.  
"Chase, if you're going to lead this mission, you have to tell Davenport about your molecular kinesis."  
"If you don't learn to control to control it, you're putting us all at risk," I added.  
"Don't worry, okay?" Chase glared at me. "I already talked to him about it, and he deactivated it, so I'm good to be your mission leader, as always."  
"Oh, _I'm you mission leader_ ," Adam mocked. "Why don't you just put it on a t-shirt so everyone knows when you walk into a room?"  
Chase reached into a bag and pulled out a sky blue t-shirt.  
"I already did."  
"Okay... when the martians show up, _you're_ getting probed first." Adam slung a bag over his shoulder and walked away. Bree did the same and I followed, leaving Chase behind. I quickly caught up to Bree and Chase.  
"What are your missions like?" I asked.  
"They can be tiring at times... but it's worth it knowing that we're saving people." Bree had a small smile on her face as she turned to me. "Are you excited?"  
"Yeah! This is going to be my first mission, and it's in _space_ , of all places! This is amazing!" My mind turned serious quickly. "My only issue is having a mission leader that doesn't like me..."  
"What are you talking about?" Adam sighed.  
"Chase seems to like you," Bree assured me.  
"I don't think he likes the fact that Marcus and I like each other. I don't know why, but he is."  
"It's probably because Marcus is Chase's only friend," Adam joked. Bree sighed.  
"Chase is just a fun-killer," Bree sighed. "I don't think he can get his mind around a friend of his liking someone he's pretending to be related to."  
"In other words...?"  
"Chase it taking this role of being your brother _way_ too seriously, and he needs to lighten up. Don't be too hard on yourself, Skai. You're not doing anything wrong."  
I sighed, pretending to be reassured, but on the inside, something still felt wrong.


	11. 10

I looked out of the window of the shuttle that Adam, Bree, Chase, and I were taking to the Space Station. The stars were so close, so beautiful, and so bright. I smiled as I looked at each tiny, burning ball of gas in awe and wonder.  
"Wow..." I whispered. "They're so... pretty."  
"You're acting like you've never seen stars before, Skai," Bree chuckled.  
"Never this close... but no, Bree, I've never really seen stars. I was trapped in a warehouse for a long time, and the first time I saw stars was when I came to stay with you guys."  
"Oh... I'm sorry, Skai..." I turned to look at the source of the voice, surprised to see that it was Chase.  
"Uh, it's fine, Chase. There's nothing you could have done about it."  
"Yeah, I know that... I'm just sorry I've been quick to judge since the start. I always assumed you were some sort of enemy, I guess. I'm sorry..."  
"It's fine, Chase. It's not like it's affected me in any way."  
"Still, I have to ask, why do you and Marcus act... different around each other?"  
"I know this might be difficult for you to comprehend," I joked, "but sometimes people fall in love with each other. That's just what happened to Marcus and I, I guess."  
Bree laughed at my teasing, and Adam smacked his brother on the back of his head. Chase sighed and looked at his brother.  
"Adam, what was that for?"  
"I don't know. I haven't smacked you in a while, and Skai gave me an opportunity to do so."  
"How?" I asked, confused at Adam's logic.  
"You insulted him, and I needed it to get into his head."  
"Adam, that makes no sense as far as I can see... and I'm a robot that can work logic into anything. Apparently you've somehow bypassed my system. Congratulations." Bree golf-clapped and Adam pumped his fist up in the air. Chase seemed to be the only one taking this scenario seriously.  
"Really, Skai?" I sighed and looked at him.   
"Chase, I thought we were good."  
"I never said that we were good, Skai. I just said apologized for judging you before really getting to know you. You're still a distraction to Marcus, we still don't know where you came from, and we're not sure if we can trust you!"  
"Why are you talking about this now? We're about to go to a space station, something you said that you've _dreamed_ of doing, and yet, you're here talking about me being a distraction to _our_ friend and being a possible traitor."  
"We're talking about this because I never know when you're going to turn on us, and I want to be able to protect our team if that happens!"  
I groaned, frustrated, and turned around, walking over to Bree. I sat down next to her and looked out the large window again. There was a suffocating silence that fell throughout the shuttle, until Bree decided that silence wasn't for her.  
"Skai, you look really pretty with blue hair." I could tell she was only trying to make conversation, but I complied for her sake.  
"Thanks, Bree. I heard it really doesn't stay long, but I can probably make it happen with my visual manipulation. At least, I hope I can."  
"Oh, so you have visual manipulation, too? How do we know that's your real face?"  
"Chase, would you _shut up?_ " Bree screamed. "Stop treating Skai like she's on trial. She has done nothing wrong! You should really should be ashamed of yourself. Now, can you please stop?"  
Silence once again fell like snow, and it remained like that until we reached the space station.


	12. 11

We walked into the space station and I was filled with awe. It was amazing that something this large could stay up in space and not interfere with anything.  
"Greetings space people," Adam said in a voice typically used to greet foreigners that spoke little English. "We come in peace from a planet called Earth."  
"Adam, they're from Earth, too," I sighed.  
"No, no. That's what they want you to think. But see her over there? She's about to pull her head off and become queen of the alien-squid people. Wait for it..." The crew slowly backed away from their curly haired comrade. "Wait for it..." Bree and Chase pushed past Adam to speak to the people.   
"Hello, everyone. Sorry we're late. The Milky Way is a bear this time of night." Chase laughed at his own smart-people joke, but even the crew members rolled their eyes. Bree decided to use her people skills to get the crew to warm up to them.  
"All right people, you're safe now, so single file to the back of the shuttle. Oh, and your in-flight movie is me talking about my boy problems. Whoo!"  
"We're going to need longer than a flight back to Earth to talk about those," I joked, and Bree shot me a tiny death glare. The crew members began walking back to the shuttle, and Adam's gaze followed them.  
"Wait for it..."  
"Oh, come on," I sighed, grabbing Adam's arm and bringing him along with Bree, Chase, and I.  
"There isn't much time," Chase sighed. "The hull breach is compromising the structural integrity of the station."  
"And there's an asteroid shower heading our way," I finished, my internal computer scanning the environment. Adam came in spinning the tool we needed around his finger as if it weighed nothing.  
"Okay, I've got the tool we need to fix the hull," he announced.   
"Adam, be careful with that," his brother warned. "It's not a toy."  
"Not unless you give it its own voice." Adam's voice went into falsetto. "'Look at me, I'm a toy!'" I rolled my eyes and moved on, placing my hands on the small computer surface.  
"Okay, we have to contact Mr. Davenport so he can guide us through this." I typed in some words on the computer and started up the video program, but rather than seeing Mr. Davenport's face, I saw Leo's.  
"Earth here, commander Dooley speaking."  
"Where's Mr. Davenport?" I demanded.  
"He had to take Marcus home. But he should have been back by now. Oh, also, before I forget, I'm gonna need you to bring me back a lot of souvenirs. A space helmet, space rocks, space soap, a space towel, those tiny little space shampoos-- shampoos, not conditioners-"  
I cut off the video feed and turned to my mission companions.  
"How is Adam supposed to go into space and fix a breached hull without Mr. Davenport here to tell him how to do it!" Chase's arm flew out to the side, and it sent the tool we needed flying through the air, falling to the ground and shattering.  
"Chase," Bree looked at Chase with crazy eyes, "did your 'deactivated' molecular kinesis just destroy the tool we need to fix the damaged hull?"  
"Uh... no?" Chase had guilt written all over his face.  
"You lied to us," I accused. "You never even told Mr. Davenport about it, did you?"  
"If I had told him about it, he never would have let me come into space," he whined.  
"Wait, so our mission leader just messed up the mission?" A small smile worked its way onto Adam's face, despite the severity of the situation. "Whoo-hoo! For once it wasn't me!"  
"We have to talk to Mr. Davenport. He'll know what to do." Chase re-opened the video call, but Leo was still sitting there, listing the things he wanted.  
"...space chocolate, space taffy, a martian... moon cheese, space pizza..." Chase shut off the video feed.  
"Well, Mr. Davenport's not there," Bree sighed, "but at least we know what Leo wants from the gift shop! What are we going to do?"  
"Wait, what if I use my heat vision to seal the pieces of the hull back together?" I was shocked at Adam's idea. It might actually work.  
"Adam, that's a great idea!" I exclaimed, smiling.  
"Chase, hand over your t-shirt." Bree was referring to the 'Mission Leader' shirt. Chase shook his head in protest and we moved on.   
"Let's go," Chase sighed. "Come on, go." We all walked into a confined space with two helmets and two tether sets. Chase grabbed one helmet and handed it to Adam. "Alright, this visor is designed to let your heat vision through."  
"So whatever you do, don't open it, or your face will explode," I finished.  
"Adam, I'm connecting this tether to you," Bree informed her brother as she did so. "It'll keep you connected to the station so you don't drift off."  
"That's a funny word: 'Tether.'Tether. Tether." The door into space opened and Adam was sent out. His comm system turned on, but he wasn't saying anything intelligent. "Te--Te-- T- T- T- T- Tether. Tetherrrrrr. Tether. T- T- T- T- T-- Tether. Tether. Tether. Tether, tether, tether, tether, tether. Tether. Tether, tether, tether."  
"Adam, just find the panel," I sighed.  
"Oh, I found it!" There was the sound of heavy metal being bent, and Adam using his heat vision, and then Adam spoke again. "I did it! I did it!" There was a sizzling noise. "Uh oh..."  
"Adam, what's wrong?" Bree cried into her headset. Adam drifted past the large window, holding up a frayed and seared tether. "Oh no, his heat vision seared the tether. He's drifting out into space!"  
"Uh, Bree, Skai, we have another problem." We looked to see an asteroid hurtling towards Adam.  
"Adam, look out!" I cried. I could hear him screaming through the head set.  
"Just use your super strength to punch it apart!" Chase reasoned. His brother did just that and the asteroid split into tiny rocks.  
"Ow!" Bree ran off to where the helmets were and began putting one on.  
"What are you doing?" Chase asked her.  
"I've got to go save him. There;s another tether. Skai, help me put this on." I did as she said and then hugged her, wishing her luck on rescuing Adam. "I can float out to him and pull him in."  
"All right," Chase sighed. "Look, just be safe out there, okay?" Bree stepped out into deep space and began floating towards Adam, tether still firmly anchored to the ship.  
"Adam, hold on. I'm coming." Bree drifted closer to her brother.  
"Hold on to what?" Bree reached her arm out, but she couldn't grab Adam, and the tether had stretched as far as it could.  
"I can't reach him. The tether's too short!"  
"Did you bring a stick?" I rolled my eyes at Adam's question. "It's not going to work. I'm drifting away!"  
"Wait!" Chase spoke up. "Maybe I could use my molecular kinesis to bring him closer to you."  
"Chase, you can't control it! What if we go flying off into space?" I could understand why Bree was so concerned.  
"Already doing it," Adam piped in. "I say go for it."  
"I'll help Chase," I spoke up, stepping forwards slightly. Chase and I both held out our arms, and using our minds, attempted to move Bree closer to Adam.  
"Come on!" Bree cried.  
"It's not working," Chase caved. "Maybe it doesn't work on people."  
"Chase, don't give up!" I urged. "Try harder, it's our last hope." Chase relaxed, and slowly, Bree began inching closer to Adam. "A little more... a little more... Stretch!"  
"I got him!" Bree cried as her and Adam's hands linked.  
"Yes! Who's the molecular kinesis master?" Chase began celebrating, causing Adam and Bree to bounce up and down.  
"Chase!" The three of us cried, snapping him out of it. Bree and Adam floated back into the station, and the four of us entered the shuttle and flew back towards Earth. As soon as the shuttle was steady, Chase spoke.  
"Skai, I owe you an apology. I'm always giving you flack, and today you helped me save Adam and Bree's lives. I may not fully trust you, but I think I trust you a little more now. I'm sorry for always yelling at you." I smiled lightly and some of my blue, curly hair fell between my vision.  
"Thanks, Chase."  
  
"Are you guys there?" Mr. Davenport asked as we walked into the lab, face looking at the screen.  
"Yup, right here," I replied, dropping the mission bag with our space suits on the floor. He jumped a bit and looked at the four of us in surprise.  
"Oh... Hello..."  
"Where have you been?" Chase cried.  
"You totally abandoned us," Bree added. "And the entire mission."  
"Adam floated out into space and almost became the world's dumbest satellite. And he would have if I hadn't have stumbled upon my molecular kinesis." Chase paused after he realized what he had just said. "Oh... also I stumbled upon my molecular kinesis."  
"How did you find out about that?"  
"I think the more important question is how could you have not told me about this?"  
"Uh, Mr. Davenport, what other abilities do I have? Because I vote for the ability to look into the future and see myself far, far away from all of... this." Bree gestured to her three brothers. Mr. Davenport sighed.  
"Yes, it's- it's true, you all have abilities you don't know about. But I can't tell you what they are or when they'll appear."  
"Why not?" Adam asked with wide eyes.  
"Because I don't know what they all are or when they'll appear."  
"What do you mean you don't know?" Chase asked angrily.  
"Look, there are certain things I can't tell you right now, but it's for your own good. Strange things will continue to happen, and I promise eventually I will give you the answers you're looking for. But for now, you just have to trust me."  
"But, Mr. Davenport-"  
"Please, I need you to trust me. And you have to be careful who you allow into your lives. We had a close call today. Marcus found the lab."  
"What?" I asked, concerned. My interest was suddenly piqued towards this conversation that had nothing to do with me.  
"Hmm... Who would have guessed that Marcus coming here would lead to bad things? I'll tell you. It's Mr. Tiny McLittlestein! Right here!" Leo pointed to himself in victory and I rolled my eyes.  
"We're just lucky I came down when I did, or he could have discovered all of our secrets." Mr. Davenport turned back to his work, a silent signal to dismiss us. I walked upstairs and fell onto my bed.  
_Marcus... you couldn't have found the lab based on luck...  
Who are you?_


	13. 12

"Tonight's the night!" Chase said excitedly. "The new frozen yogurt shop is opening! Fifty-two flavors, and four of them are sugar free!" Bree looked at Chase with that 'you're such a dork' look. She ran the straightening iron through my sunshine-yellow hair, hoping to get it to look at least decent. "Oh who are you kidding, you passed out the first time you discovered nail polish." Bree rolled her eyes and straightened another strand of my unruly hair.  
"I've never had frozen yogurt before," I smiled. "I'm excited to try it!"  
"It's delicious," Bree assured me, smiling.  
"I've heard about those yogurt places." Adam said, stepping towards the table where Chase, Bree, and I were sitting. "They get you by charging extra for toppings, so I'm bringing my own." He opened up his olive green jacket to reveal baggies of different yogurt toppings. I chuckled to myself. "You don't even want to know what's in my pants." He slapped his hands against his thighs and then grimaced. "Ooh! Hot butterscotch! Ooh!"  
"Sorry, you guys are coming straight home after school." Mr. Davenport walked over to the table holding his self-made tablet. "No flavors, no froyo, no hanging with the bros, peeps, and homies."  
"'Bros, peeps, and homies?'" I asked, disgusted. Mr. Davenport nodded. "No, just... no."  
"What's got you so grouchy?" Leo asked. "Did they run out of human footstools at the rich guys club?"  
"Did you forget your little buddy Marcus found the lab yesterday?" Mr. Davenport looked right at me when he asked that, and I felt my cheeks flush red from more than just the heat radiating off the straightening iron. "He could've discovered our bionic secret."  
"Oh! Okay, so it's out fault a million-dollar smart home system didn't stop him." Eddy came up on the screen mounted to the wall of the lab.  
"Don't go there, supergirl. I was getting my beauty sleep, something you should do." Bree held up the straightening iron as if she were about to hit the screen, and I stopped her, grabbing her arm. She then went back to taming the last few chunks of my hair.  
"Look, it doesn't matter whose fault it was, even though someone was supposed to be watching him." Mr. Davenport pointed at Leo, who shot back.  
"Well, someone pulled Leo away, allowing Marcus to roam free."  
"Guys, I think you're talking about each other," Adam loudly whispered. We all rolled our eyes and looked at him like he was even more stupid than we already thought he was.  
"Bottom line, I am keeping a tight leash on you four. Leo, because I can't always be there, you have to step it up and do a better job watching out for them."  
"No problem, Big D. I may have let one goon get too close, but I won't let any more Marcuses slip through the cracks. From now on, you can call me the enforcer."  
"Are you serious, Leo?" I sighed as Bree let go of the final strand of hair. "You're still focused on Marcus alone? There are far more dangerous people out there than a teenage boy."  
"Skai, the only reason you're defending him is because you like him."  
"Shut up! I'm defending him because you're being unfair. You can't just focus on him!"  
"Both of you, cut it out." Mr. Davenport ordered. "Skai, Marcus got into the lab, and Leo, Skai's right, we have to be cautious of everyone. Now all of you go upstairs and eat, or you're going to be late to school." Bree placed my yellow hat back on my head and the two of us walked back to the elevator to take us upstairs.   
"This is ridiculous. Why is Leo being so strict about all of this?"  
"I don't know. Why is Mr. Davenport being so strict about this?"  
"I have no idea either, but something tells me I'll never be able to see Marcus again."  
"No, you can still see him." She looked at me with a devilish-elated smile. "You'll have to see him in secret. Ooh, this is like Romeo and Juliette! This is going to be so cute! Now you two just need to be boyfriend and girlfriend."  
"I just hope we don't have the same ending as them..."


	14. 13

"The hammer is down, people," Leo informed us as we stood back in the lab and I took large bites of the last of my breakfast. Leo pointed to Bree. "No more talking to boys." He pointed to Adam next. "No more talking to girls." He shot a deadly glare at me. "No more talking to Marcus." Finally, he looked at Chase. "No more helping old ladies to their cars!"  
"I was helping _your_ grandmother," Chase shot back.  
"Trust no one!"  
"Leo, I'm fairly sure you're going over board. Besides, who is going to take you seriously? You're shorter than almost everyone at school."  
"Skai will fight you to be able to talk to Marcus again," Bree warned Leo. "She _does_ love him."  
"I do not..." My face blushed red, despite my angered tone. Mr. Davenport burst into the room and looked like a girl who had just gotten a new pair of shoes.  
"It's here!" He squealed. "It's here, it's here, it's here, it's here, it's here!"  
"What?" Bree asked, her eyes suddenly lighting up. "What is it?" Eddy activated on his little screen by us.   
"Whatever it is, I hope it came with a big box of masculinity because I never want to see that again." I chuckled at Eddy's joke, as did Adam, Bree, Chase, and Leo. Mr. Davenport rolled his eyes at our amusement.  
"Just come here." We followed him into the garage and my eyes widened at the sight. A sleek, silver car that I knew had not been there before. "Meet the world's first self-driving car, designed by yours truly. That's right, just when you thought I couldn't get more awesome, boom! I got more awesome!"  
"And, boom! I still want to be dropped off a block away from school." Mr. Davenport's smile dropped to an unamused look at Bree's response, but it quickly came back up when he talked about the car again.  
"So how does this thing drive itself?" Leo asked.  
"Oh, well, uh, see this panel on top? It receives a satellite signal and sends all the pertinent information to the car's on-board computer and voila, it drives itself! Hey, did I mention, by the way, that this car goes 200 miles an hour? No? That's because it goes 300!" He clicked a button on the keys and the car beeped, and then began speaking.  
"Good morning, Donald. Would you like to take a ride?" I screeched and stumbled back, right into Bree, who, luckily, caught me.   
"Witchcraft!" I screamed, pointing at the car. Bree laughed.  
"Relax, Skai. It's not witchcraft, it's technology, just like you."  
"Oh... that makes a lot more sense... I feel like a huge idiot now." Tasha came in and ushered all of us out.  
"Guys, what are you doing? You're going to be late to school! Go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go!" We all rushed back into the house, and all grabbed our bags, and then headed out to school.  
  
I walked into the double doors and was greeted by Marcus standing there, talking to a few guys on the football team. As soon as he noticed me, he waved and walked over to me.  
"Morning, Skai. Your hair looks lovely, and the hat is a nice touch."  
"Thank you, Marcus. You're looking dashing as always." I looked at his large, brown eyes and smiled. How could Leo not trust this guy?  
"Anyways, I need to ask you something. I was wondering if-"  
"Skai!" I whipped around to see Leo walking towards us and sighed. Marcus raised his eyebrow at the tiny boy as he came over and yanked me away from Marcus.   
"Sorry, Marcus, but Skai's no longer available."  
"Leo, you can't just-"  
"I am taking her away now." Leo yanked me towards the others, who looked just as miserable as I did. I should have remembered that Marcus wouldn't give up easily, however, as when I turned around, Marcus was walking towards us. I smiled at him and he came over.  
"Hey guys. What's up?"  
"I'll tell you what's up: your time here. Get lost, creepy." Leo pointed in another direction, but Marcus put his arm down and chuckled, clearly trying to keep his composure.  
"Silly Leo." He walked closer and put a hand on my shoulder, but faced all four of us. "So, guys, are you excited for the new frozen yogurt shop? They're giving out free toppings. Principal Perry's been camped out for a week." I chuckled at that image.  
"Wha-free topping? Someone could have told me that before I filled my socks with gummy frogs." Marcus looked at Adam with a questioning look.  
"It's a long story. I'll try and tell you later." I shot Leo a death glare as I said my last sentence.  
"Stranger danger," Leo hissed as he passed by the other three.  
"Uh, sorry Marcus. We can't go," Bree sighed.  
"We have chores," Chase lied.  
"No we don't." I tried to shush Adam, but he wasn't paying attention. "We have an uptight dad who's afraid we'll reveal our secret-" He caught himself. "-recipe for chili! Ooh, that works. Let's go!" Adam, Bree, Chase, and Leo raced away, while I stayed by Marcus.  
"What was that all about?"   
"I'm not entirely sure. After all, I'm not family, I'm just Bree's friend." The warning bell rang and Marcus and I had to part. "I'll see you later."   
"Goodbye, my dear Juliette. I pray that we shall meet again." I rolled my eyes at his cheesiness.  
"Great, now you're doing that too."


	15. 14

I wrote the last sentence just as Bree's phone went off, frustrating her even more. The four of us were stuck down in the lab, the place where Adam, Bree, and Chase had apparently been trapped in up until just recently. I pushed some yellow hair behind my ear as Bree ranted.  
"Ugh, everyone from school is checking in at the yogurt shop. Even Susie Reynolds, and she's lactose intolerant!" I chuckled at that, and then my phone went off, prompting me to look at who had contacted me. I smiled as I read the text from Marcus, saying how he wished I was there.  
_Sorry, weird dad, overprotective rules, same old, same old. I wish I could be there with you.  
Guess I'll have to wait until tomorrow to ask you what I needed to...  
_I sighed and practically slammed my phone down. It was so frustrating that I wasn't allowed to interact with human beings. I _really_ wanted to know what Marcus had to ask. Determination filled my system, but it died down when Mr. Davenport came downstairs.  
"Guys, I need your help tonight to make Tasha's dinner tonight extra-special."  
"Yeah, sure. What can we do?" Adam asked.  
"Stay far, far away." With that, he went back upstairs, and my phone went off again. I sighed and became frustrated.  
"I knew we should have gone to the grand opening with Marcus," I lamented. "He just texted me and said that Principal Perry is shotgunning tutti-fruity straight from the dispenser!" Bree chuckled at that image, but sadness quickly filled her eyes.  
"We are missing the biggest social event of the year! Let's just go!"  
"We can't," Chase sighed. "Mr. Davenport wants us here."  
"No, Mr. Davenport wants us far, far away, and the yogurt shop is far, far away." Adam's logic, for once, actually made sense.  
"Your razor-thin logic works for me." I was shocked Chase wanted to break the rules.  
"Wait, wait, wait, wait!" We all looked at Bree. "What about Leo."  
"Marcus said not to bring him, and he's right," I reasoned. "We just have to be quick."  
"And you know what else is quick? Davenport's car."  
"Are you crazy? Mr. Davenport would kill us if he knew we drove his car."  
"Yes, but we wouldn't be driving the car. The car drives itself!"  
"Boom, can't argue with that!" Chase still seemed adamant on not taking Mr. Davenport's car.  
"Chase, come on! Where's that rebellious spirit that popped up when Adam said we should go. Chase sighed, but seemed to know I was right.  
"All right, let's go!"  
"Yes, let's get in the witchcraft car!"  
  
We pulled up in the car, and everyone stared at the vehicle in shock. I had been sitting in the driver's seat, with Bree in the passenger's, and we had forced Adam and Chase into the back. We all climbed out of the car and walked over to Marcus, who hugged me and smiled at the others.  
"Wow... that was quite an entrance, Skai," he teased. "I'm glad you could come."  
"Oh yeah. Stole a self-driving car from my best friend's father and got here at a speed limit possibly above the legal limit, typical Tuesday." Marcus laughed at my joke and moved on, looking at the car.  
"This thing is awesome," he marveled.  
"Yeah, you just say any destination and it takes you there," Chase informed him.  
"Yet no matter how many times I tell it 'take me to a better life,' here I am." Bree motioned to her brothers.  
"And get this, it even has a compartment for your gloves!" I rolled my eyes at what Adam thought was impressive.  
"So, guys, the line looks pretty long. Maybe we should take this thing and cruise on over to my house."  
"Hold it!" We all looked over to see Leo racing to us. "Eddy told me you guys snuck out. You're all coming with me!"  
"No, we're not, Bree protested.  
"Oh, yes you are." Leo grabbed Chase's arm, but he yanked it away.  
"You can't tell us what to do."  
"Yeah, you're not the boss of us. What, did you run all the way over here?"  
"Yes. because Big D made me the enforcer, and so it's my job to watch over you! Plus, you're here with Marcus, who we _can't trust_!"  
"Tell that to Skai, of all people. She trusts him the most out of all of us!"  
"It's not my fault he's handsome!"  
"Now is _not_ the time to say that, Skai!"  
"All of you, get in the car, right now!"  
"No! We just got here!"  
"Okay, I'm warning you, do not make me call for backup... because I do not have any backup." I rolled my eyes at how pathetic Leo was being.  
"Guys, Leo's right," Marcus sighed. "I don't want you to get in trouble. Maybe you should go home. But at least grab some yogurt before you go. I'll watch the car."  
"No, no, no. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. I see what you're doing. You're not gonna lay one slimy little finger on this car. Beat it, eyebrows!" Leo climbed into the car and shut the door, waiting for us to get some yogurt. After I grabbed mine, Marcus stopped me and pulled me aside, looking me in the eyes. I felt my heart flutter.  
"Skai... I really like you... like, a lot. I really want to spend more time with you, so I was wondering... if you would be my girlfriend?" I had never been more happy in my short life.  
"Marcus, of course I'll be your girlfriend." He hugged me briefly, then sent me off.  
"I don't want you to get in trouble because of me." I giggled and walked towards where the car was, but when I got there, the car was missing.   
"Um, where's Leo?" Bree asked, concerned.  
"More importantly, where are the napkins?" I looked over at Adam to see him attempting to lick the melting yogurt off of his arms. I rolled my eyes at his ignorance.  
"Leo probably went for a joyride," Marcus sighed. "I'll just call my dad to pick us up. He's been dying to meet you guys." Something about what Marcus had said tipped me off a little bit, but I brushed it off. Bree's phone went off and her eyes turned to dinner plates.  
"It's Leo!" Bree picked up her phone and spoke with a worried tone. "Leo, where are you?" I could hear screaming come from Leo's line, but couldn't specifically hear what he was saying. Bree quickly hung up and looked at us. "Guys, Leo's in trouble. We have to go help him! Sorry Marcus, we have to go!"  
"Wait, you can't go yet! We haven't taken a picture with the Froyo-a-Go-Go dodo!" Something about what Marcus was doing seemed suspicious.  
"Oh, right." Adam took a quick selfie, then came back to the three of us. Bree called Leo back and put it on speaker. He quickly answered. "Hey, Leo, the left pedal is called the brake. Take your foot and step on it." I could _hear_ Leo's eyeroll.  
"Don't you think I've tried that already?"  
"Hey, if you can't be polite, this conversation is over."  
"Leo, I'll use your cell signal to locate the car on my Bionic GPS," Chase informed him. He did just that and turned to Bree. "Got him: Taylor Avenue at twenty-eighth."  
"I'll use my super-speed to catch up to the car and pull him out." Bree sped off, and we stood there for a few moments, until Bree came back, looking haggard and covered in branched.  
"Whoa. What happened to you?" I couldn't help but laugh a little bit.  
"You know those signs that say 'Deer Crossing?' They don't lie! I don't know how we're gonna stop that car..."  
"What, you don't think the ocean's gonna stop it?" I resisted the urge to smack Adam.  
"If the car is being driven by an internal computer system, maybe I can tap into it remotely and shut it down." Chase leaned his had down to be closer to the phone's mic. "Hang on, Leo, I'm gonna try something." Chase tapped into the car via his link, but Leo didn't seem pleased.  
"Well, Chase, you completed the 14-point maintenance checklist. Now all we need is an oil change and we're good to go!"  
"Okay, the car won't let me tap into its CPU, but what if there was a way for me to block its satellite signal?"  
"But is your force field powerful enough?" I asked with concern.  
"Well, yeah, but I'd have to surround the entire car, which is miles away and moving fast. I could never throw that far."  
"You can't, but I can!" Bree, Chase, and I all seemed to have the same idea.  
"Yes, you can! If I can calculate the distance, arc and force necessary to launch, I can guide your arm and use your strength to hurl the force field at the car."  
"Ah, so it's like a bionic-bro combo! A bro-motion! A bro-tation! A super bionic bro-chacho--"  
"Just do it already!" I screamed.  
"Hurry, hurry!" Leo urged.  
"Okay, we've only got one chance! You gotta think of it like a basketball. We're shooting a full-court shot across 98 courts that are moving at 125 miles per hour."  
"That sounds insanely complicated," I sighed.  
"Yeah, numbers, numbers, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Just tell me what I'm chucking."  
"Guys, I'm sorry. You're trying to rescue me when I'm supposed to be protecting you. I guess I wasn't a very good enforcer."  
"No, you weren't." I rolled my eyes at Adam.  
Just get ready. Get on your knees." Adam did as his brother said, and Chase readied a force field. Once it was complete, he placed it in his brother's hands, then pulled Adam back like a slingshot.  
"Perfect... All right... Thee, two, one, now!" The boys collapsed as they shot the force field, and Bree snapped a picture.  
"I don't know what that was, but it's going on my profile page." I high-fived Bree as Adam and Chase scrambled to their feet.  
"Let's see if it worked." Chase pulled up his GPS tracker, and the dot meant to symbolize the car came to a halt. We all cheered and hugged each other, until another problem surfaced.  
"Now, how are we going to get this thing home?"


	16. 15

I sighed and looked at myself in the mirror. My hair was a mint green, matching my small flats. I still wore my glasses, a small green top, and a cute white skirt with a bow in the front. I rushed down to the lab and stood before Bree, who looked up at me.  
"How do I look?" I asked desperately.   
"You look great, Skai," Bree assured me. Adam looked up from his phone and furrowed his brows.  
"Skai, why are you wearing nice clothes?"  
"She has a date with Marcus," Chase sighed, frustrated with his brother.  
"She's going against Mr. Davenport? Aw man, you better hope Leo doesn't tell him." I rolled my eyes and resisted the urge to punch him.  
"Thanks for that, Adam. My confidence is just through the roof now." You could practically see the sarcasm dripping from my words. I turned to Bree, and found myself shaking. "How am I supposed to meet Marcus without Leo and Mr. Davenport seeing him?" As if he could hear my words, I got a text from Marcus saying that he was at the front door, and I heard a knock from above. "Oh no..."  
"Skai!" I flinched, looked at the other three bionics, then walked to the elevator, rapidly heading up to the main floor. I stepped out and Marcus luckily wasn't looking. I cleared my throat once the elevator disappeared, and Mr. Davenport, Leo, and Marcus all looked at me. Marcus' eyes seemed to light up and his cheeks turned red, smiling at me. "Skai, why is Marcus here?" I took in a deep breath and walked forwards, towering over Mr. Davenport.  
"He's here because I'm going to go out with him. If you have a problem with it, you can take it up with me. However, since you're not my real father, you do not have as much authority over me, and I will go on this date." Mr. Davenport sighed, but he seemed to understand that I had a point.  
"What time will you both be back?" I looked over at the large clock on the wall and estimated enough time with my internal computer.   
"Likely around four, if that's okay with you, Marcus." I looked at him and he smiled.  
"Yeah, that's totally fine. Anyways, my dad's waiting outside to take us to the movies. You ready to go?"  
"Yes. Let's go." I tried to make myself sound less robotic. He took my hand and we walked down the driveway to his father's car. We both climbed in the back and his dad smiled back at us. He had spiked brown hair and matching eyes, and a warm, welcoming smile.  
"Hello, Skai. I'm Marcus' dad, Douglas. It's nice to meet you. I've heard a lot of great things about you." I blushed a deep red and my system attempted to cool down my body temperature.  
"Thank you," I smiled, looking at both him and Marcus. His dad looked forwards and began driving us to the movie theater. It was a mostly silent ride. Every now and then, Marcus would start a short conversation, but it would die almost as soon as it started. After what felt like an eternity, we arrived at the theater, and Marcus led me out of the car. I walked towards the doors and waited for Marcus to finish talking to his father. As soon as he did, the car pulled away and he walked to me, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. I giggled as we walked over to the stand, buying our tickets and food, which he paid for. I was a bit worried about seeing a horror film, as I heard they were really scary, but I felt a bit less scared with Marcus here. He took my hand and we walked into the theater. It seemed like almost everyone had the same idea as us, however, because there were only a few seats left. My scanners went over the room in an attempt to find the best place to sit. My system settled on two seats right in the middle, and turned to Marcus.  
"Let's sit in the middle," we both said at the same time, causing us to both laugh. We squeezed past people and made our way to the center seats and sat down, the lights dimming as we did. Only now did I question how Marcus knew to sit in the center at the same time I did.   
  
We both came out of the theater, laughing our heads off.   
"That was literally the worst horror movie ever!" I cried, trying not to fall over from laughing.  
"It was so bad! That wasn't even scary!"  
"I know! You could tell that all those actors really didn't care." We exited the theater and the bright light practically blinded me, causing me to flinch. Marcus placed his hand on my lower back and we walked to the ice cream store down the road. I ordered a small cup of chocolate, and we sat at a small table. I was prepared to start a light conversation, but as soon as I looked at Marcus, that dream died. He had a serious expression on his face. I looked at him in fear.  
"Marcus? Are you alright?"  
"Skai, I'm going to be frank with you." He took a deep breath and spat it out. "I'm not human." Shock filled me.  
"W-what?"   
"I... I'm a bionic android." I couldn't tell if I was relieved or concerned.  
"Wait, really?" He nodded. I lowered my voice. "So am I."  
"Seriously? That's amazing!" He looked at me with shimmering eyes. "That makes it even easier to love you."  
"Just because you love me doesn't mean it will last."  
"What do you mean?"  
"See... I came from a laboratory, but I don't remember which one. When I was there, my master thought I was unconscious after experiments, he was talking to an assistant of his. Assuming we're both of the same model, we're only going to live for another year." Marcus gripped the table to keep himself from shooting up.  
"Why? Shouldn't robots be able to live forever?"  
"Not in our case." I lightly placed my hand on his. "I'm not sure why, but before I blacked out again, I heard something about my model-our models- being inferior and not being able to run for more than sixteen years."  
"That's crazy..." He sighed and picked up his phone. "Dad, I have her. I'm bringing her to the car now."  
"Wait, what? Are we leaving already? I don't want to go home yet."  
"Oh, don't worry, Skai. You're not going home." His expression seemed to darken and a shudder ran down my spine. Before I could react, Marcus walked over and roughly grabbed my arm, then began leading out of the ice cream shop. He roughly guided my to his father's car, and practically threw me in the back. Restraints tightened around me as Marcus slammed the door shut. Marcus' dad turned back with a devilish smirk.  
"I never formally introduced myself, Skai. My name is Douglas Davenport." I practically fell back.  
"No way..."  
"You're going to come with Marcus and I to be bait for your little bionic friends."  
"Leo was right about you... Why did I trust you?"  
"I played innocent well, didn't I, Skai? Like I was just a normal guy, hmm?"  
"Do you even love me?"  
"Of course, darling. But I saw the way those boys, Chase and Leo, looked at you. I knew they would get in the way, so I needed you to be mine. Besides-" he got close to my ear and whispered, "-I've loved watching what you and the others do in the lab." I looked at him in disgust.  
"You've been watching us?"  
"Of course. We had to make sure you never got too close to learning the truth about us. At least, until I told you." He turned to his dad. "Let's go."  
"Mr. Davenport will know I'm missing!"  
"He won't of we're able to make an exact replica of you. They will never know the difference."  
"Also, Skai, never allow someone will evil intent to take anything for you."  
"What are you talking about?"  
"I slipped a little... something... into your ice cream. You should be able to sleep soundly soon." As if the drug were operated on cue, I began to feel tired.  
"We'll put you in the cage in the basement," I heard before I slipped into a deep sleep.


	17. 16

  
"Skai! Get up!" I slowly blinked open my eyes, and my scanners registered where I was. I couldn't pinpoint the exact address, but I was in a dark, desolate basement, locked in a cage, the bars made out of a material meant to send electricity down the spine of someone who wanted to escape. I looked up to see Douglas standing in front of the cage. He threw down a set of purple objects and deactivated the cage.  
"Go change. You're going to school, and these are the clothes your replica is wearing." He gestured to the monitors that were carefully sweeping over the lab. I resisted the urge to punch him.  
"You're sick. Why are you doing this?" His smirk grew wider.  
"You'll find out soon enough. Now hurry up and change!" He stormed up the stairs and slammed the door that led down here. I prayed there were no cameras and rapidly slipped on the clothes I had been given, then used my visual manipulation to make my hair appear purple. Only a few minutes after I had finished changing, Marcus snuck down the stairs with a large breakfast. I looked at him in distaste.  
"Skai, don't look so angry. I managed to sneak us down a nice breakfast. My dad wasn't planning on feeding you at all." I was still skeptical, but I took the food he was offering me and sat on the floor across from him.  
"Why are you doing this?" I asked out of nowhere.  
"What do you mean?"  
"Why are you being so nice?"  
"Do you think I was pretending when I said I loved you?" He inched a little bit closer. "I wasn't, Skai. I actually _do_ love you, but my father would have killed you and used your dead body as bait if I didn't do this. It was the only way I could protect you."  
"How can I trust you? You manipulated me, lied to me, drugged me, and then captured me. Do you see why I'm suspicious?"  
"I can see how you would be apprehensive, but you have to trust me." He got even closer, face hovering a mere few inches from mine. "Skai, I wouldn't have saved you if I didn't care about you."  
"Marcus, you're not-"  
"Skai, listen to me. I love you, I really do. I went on that date with you because I love you. I asked you out before my dad told me to do this. It just happened to fall into place like that."  
"Uh, I-I..." Before I could finish my sentence, Marcus kissed my lips gingerly. I was just about to kiss back, when he pulled away and looked up at the closed door.  
"I have to go, so my dad doesn't get suspicious. I'll see you later." I kissed his cheek quickly. He gave me a goofy smile, then walked up the stairs, shutting the door behind him. I only had time to slip on the purple heels and glasses, then I heard Douglas' harsh voice.  
"Skai, we're leaving. Get up here, now!" I sighed and grabbed my bag, then slowly made my way up the stairs, meeting eyes with Marcus for only a moment before I was ushered out the door.  
  
"Chase wins!" Leo held up Chase's hand, then looked at him with a scared look. "Wait, which hand did you lick?"  
"That one," Chase answered. Leo dropped his hand and wiped it on Chase's shirt. I was so happy to see all of them.  
"Chase wins." Marcus and I casually strolled over to them, his hand linked in mine.  
"Hey guys, how's it going?" Marcus asked them.  
"Ooh, bundle up everyone. It just got partly creepy with a one-hundred percent chance of annoying. Oh, and Skai's back from the bathroom."  
"Oof, am I going to need an umbrella for that?" Adam asked.  
"So, you guys wanna hang out at my house after school? We just got a sick new flat screen." My eyes widened and I looked at them, slightly shaking my head to signal 'no.'  
"Is it just as sick as you make me? That would be pretty sick."  
"We'd love to hang out today, right Skai?"  
"Chase it too polite to say it, so I'll say it for him: you're a lunatic, and we're leaving." Leo began ushering all of us out the door to leave, and I panicked slightly, knowing I would have to get back to Marcus'. I looked back at him in concern, and he made a face that said 'do something.' I turned to Leo.  
"I forgot something in one of my classrooms. Can I go grab it?" Leo sighed but pointed behind him, indicating that I could go. I ran up the stairs, but I was not prepared for what I would witness next.


	18. 17

I came down the stairs to head back with Marcus, but quickly hid behind a pillar to avoid getting involved in the scene that was unfolding. I glanced out from behind the pillar and gasped. Leo yanked on the doors that led out of the school, looking terrified and distressed as Marcus got closer to him.  
"Help! Somebody!" He cried fearfully. "I'm trapped! Principal Perry?" He looked around and sighed. "Who am I kidding? She's not here. It's five-cent wing night at the Buffalo Barn."  
"Looks like its just you and me, Leo." Marcus chuckled in an evil way, and my stomach twisted. "Man, it is fun to mess with you when you can't tell anyone I'm bionic."  
_Leo knows Marcus is bionic? How long has this been going on?_ I started to become more and more suspicious of Marcus.  
"Yeah, it's a real party over here, too. I should just turn you in."  
"Go ahead. Then I'll just expose Adam, Bree, Skai, and Chase's bionics and the government will swoop in and take them away."  
"Not if I turn you in first." Before Leo could react, Marcus shot out a beam from his arm and shot an inch away from Leo's head. I kept my gasp silent as fear grew inside of me.   
_Who really are you, Marcus?  
"_You are gonna keep your mouth shut. Or next time... I won't miss." He used telekinesis to open the doors before him and walked out, but I knew he was waiting there for me. I looked at Leo, feeling bad that I couldn't step in to help him. Leo pulled out his phone and began talking into the minuscule microphone.  
"Voice log, Monday, three-twenty-three p.m. Gathering evidence on subject Marcus. And I will not give up until I prove, once and for all, that Marcus is-" His phone began ringing, and he answered it. "Hello? Oh, hey mom. Yeah, can I call you back? Thanks. All right. I love you too, bye." He turned back on his voice recorder. "That Marcus is evil, and always has been!" Leo exited the building not long after, and once I knew it was safe, I exited the school and walked over to Douglas' car. He gave me a cold stare as I entered the car and sat by Marcus. He leaned over to kiss my cheek, but I stopped him and motioned to his father. He sighed and inched away from me. I smiled sadly and looked at him with sympathetic eyes. The car ride to his house was full of a fake silence from Marcus, and an angry silence from me.  
_How could you lie to me like that?_ I thought sadly. _You said that you were actually nice, and you cared. From what I've seen, you lied to me.  
  
_I was locked back in the cage downstairs and sighed. Douglas looked at me like I was garbage before walking back upstairs and slamming the door. The large bit of metal guarding the basement opened again, to reveal Marcus coming downstairs with a bowl with something red in it. He smiled at me as he set down the bowl and unlocked the cage. The minute I was free, I lunged at him and tackled him to the ground, pinning him down. His expression changed from happy to terrified in only a few seconds.  
"Who really are you, Marcus?"  
"What do you mean?"  
"Back at the school, I saw you harassing Leo. You were threatening him, and you tried to kill him. So I ask you, Marcus: who really are you? You said you cared and that you didn't want to hurt me, but based on what I saw, it seems you have bigger plans, now don't you?"  
"Skai, I don't understand... Why would you think that?"  
"It's one thing if you mess with me, but when you start messing with the people I care about, it makes me want to rip you to shreds, and-" He pressed his lips against mine for a brief second, then looked at me with sad, brown eyes.  
"Skai, please."   
"No matter how much you beg and plead, I can't forgive you for this. Why should I trust you?"  
"He's trying to expose me as being bionic. He's trying to take you away from me."  
"I don't blame him. You're a freak, and you have no ability to care about anyone, do you?" I could tell Marcus was getting angry. He slapped me, knocking me to the ground. He then picked me up and threw me back in the cage. He put the bowl in, then walked away, locking the cage and slamming the door, like his father. I peered into the bowl to see slices of watermelon, my favorite fruit. I sighed.  
_Who really are you?_


	19. 18

  
Anyone who saw me at this point would think I was crazy. I had resorted to talking to myself to entertain my mind, and everything I was wearing was a mess. My purple hair was in so many different directions, my clothes were wrinkled and messy, and my shoes were on opposite ends of the cage.  
"You've got nothing better to do, Skai," I informed myself. "Either you yell for Marcus and run the risk of Douglas interfering, or you try and get out of this cage yourself." I analyzed the room, trying to find something to dismantle the electric bars of the cage with, but to no avail. I resisted the urge to wrap my fragile hands around the bars, as they would shoot a jolt of electricity through me that was so powerful, I would die. My skeletal model was very weak, and any extra voltage would fry the system to a neat crisp.   
Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes, my nose began to sting like I was going to sneeze, and that sensation in my throat where it feels like your airways have suddenly closed off began. I tried to stay strong, but my system was depressed. I couldn't cry, so all I was left with was the horrible before-feelings of crying, which were like slow, painful torture.  
At that moment, I heard the secret door on the side of the house open, and tiny footsteps began coming towards where I was being held captive. I tensed up and the feeling of crying, thankfully, went away. My hands gripped onto the floor and my breathing increased, heartbeat getting stronger and louder each minute. If I wasn't careful, my system would call for a manual override. The footsteps got closer and closer, and finally, the source of them emerged. Relief flooded through me when I saw who the mysterious person was, however. He pulled out his blue cased phone and spoke into the microphone.  
"I'm in some sort of weird underground lair beneath Marcus's house. It's incredibly grim and smells like sewer water and... sweaty dudes. What the...?" He turned and looked at the cage, looking right into my eyes. "Skai?"  
"Leo!" I cried. "You have to be careful! Someone might catch you at any second!"  
"How did you get here? I thought you were at home."  
"I'm not! That's a replica of me Marcus' father made. He's very clever."  
"Skai, I can't do anything now, but I'm going to get photographic evidence and take it to the others, okay?"  
"Okay Leo. I trust you." He began taking photos of different things around the underground torture chamber.  
"Bam, Skai in a cage. Bam, evil lair. Bam, Marcus' capsule." I tore my eyes away from Leo and practically screamed.  
"Leo!"  
"Bam, Marcus. Marcus?" Marcus took Leo's phone from him and held onto it, looking at him with angered, killing-set eyes. I felt so helpless now that I was trapped in here with no escape.  
"You shouldn't have come here, Leo."  
"I couldn't agree more. Where's the exit?" I rolled my eyes.  
"Oh, my hero."  
"Oh no. You are not going anywhere. You've seen too much."  
_Classic villain motives, Marcus. Come up with something else other than that.  
"_What do you want with Adam, Bree, and Chase?"  
"You won't be around  
to find out." My heart began racing as Marcus pulled out a remote. "Say hello to our remote controlled home security system." He pressed a button and, much to my relief, a vacuum rolled up.  
"Well, that looks effective. What's it scanning for? Dust bunnies?" He pressed another button, and limb-by-limb, the vacuum unfolded into a giant, stoic, threatening robot. "How big are your dust bunnies?" The robot took a minute to scan the room, then began swinging. Leo ducked and rolled, easily able to dodge to swings of the robot.  
"You're quicker than I thought. Good thing I added this." Marcus clicked another button, and the robot began shooting green lasers at him. He ducked and covered behind some console, then grabbed what appeared to be a stapler from it. But everything down here was not as it seemed, so who knows what it could be.  
"Aha, now I have a weapon too!" Leo pointed the stapler at the robot, then Marcus.  
"That's a stapler," Marcus sighed, sarcasm lacing through his voice. Leo looked at it and gingerly set it down, embarrassed. Marcus walked over and picked it up, smirking.   
"Just kidding. It's a ray gun!"  
"Dang it!" Marcus began firing lasers at Leo, who screamed and ducked behind another console. I desperately wished that I could do something, but this cage blocked my bionic signal, keeping me from helping.  
"Marcus, please stop this!" The burning sensation of tears once again slapped the back of my throat and nose. He didn't even acknowledge that he had heard my words.  
"Game over, Leo. You're no match for my robot's awesome physical strength."  
"Well... yeah. I am no match for his strength. But just remember, you didn't beat me. This thing did." He pointed to the large, orange robot that was looming over him.  
"Please," Marcus scoffed, his self-esteem clearly slightly damaged. "I could pulverize you." Leo chuckled and Marcus' face fell a little bit more.  
"Yeah, I'd like to see you try."  
"Leo, what are you doing?" I hissed angrily, worried about his safety.  
"Not smart, Leo. The robot would have been quick and painless compared to what I'm going to do to you."  
"Okay, tough guy. But if I win, you have to let me go, deal?" Marcus scoffed, but gave in.  
"Yeah, sure." Marcus grabbed the remote and pushed a few buttons, and the robot deactivated. I let out a tiny sigh of relief, but worry still plagued me as Marcus approached Leo.  
"Let's shake on it." Marcus rolled his eyes and stuck out his arm. But before Marcus and Leo's hands could meet, Leo licked his and placed it on Marcus'. Marcus recoiled and Leo was able to snatch the remote from his hands.  
"Ew! Why would you do that?"  
"Because I'm clever, and clever beats strong any day." Leo began pushing button on the remote, but the robot didn't do anything. "But clever would really like to take a look at this thing's instruction manual." Leo pushed a few more buttons, and the robot broke down. Leo dropped the remote, and with one last look back at me in the cage, then sprinted away.  
"Oh man! That was my dad's favorite toy! There goes pizza night!" He looked at me with rage in his eyes. "This is all your fault, Skai." Rather than standing up for myself, I curled up and sighed, trying to fall asleep as he stormed upstairs.


	20. 19

I was awoken from my sleep by a voice that I both loved and hated.  
"Skai... Skai, please wake up. Skai, I'm sorry I lashed out at you yesterday. I was angry that Leo had gotten away, and you were the first person I saw." Complying with what the voice was asking, I stirred and as slowly as I could, I stood up and rubbed my eyes. My eyes, so green that they looked fake, met with hazel ones that I couldn't tell were beautiful or treacherous. I noticed a bundle of black next to him, and he followed my gaze. "Oh, I brought you clothes for today. I also brought you some breakfast, but you don'y have to eat it if you don't want to." I turned my hair black and looked at him with broken, dead eyes. "Come on, Skai. Are you still mad at me for lashing out? I said I'm sorry."  
Oh, nothing's wrong, I thought to myself, keeping my face neutral. I'm just trying to see if I can break you and have you free me.  
"Skai, please talk to me." Rather than saying anything, I turned the other way and looked at the other wall. Manipulation was all a complex mind game, and in order to have an advantage over Marcus, I had to play with his emotions. Luckily, he had already made himself vulnerable, so all I had to do was heighten it. "Skai, come on. Please look at me. Don't you believe me when I say that I love you?" If I were moving, I would have stopped in my tracks. Could he see through what I was doing? Was he trying to play with me too? There was no way. Then again, he was a highly intelligent robot...  
"Well, Skai?" He walked over to the console and disabled the cage. He then walked over to me and faced me, taking my chin between his fingers and looked me in the eyes, raising my gaze to meet his. "Do you believe me when I say I love you?"  
_Do I lie or tell him the truth?  
_A deep sigh escaped from a buried point in my lungs, and I spat out what I had decided to tell him.  
"No, I don't believe you..."  
His expression fell. I had decided to tell him the truth.  
"...but I can't help but still love you." I wished that I was lying there. I couldn't be falling for the enemy, and yet I was. I hated myself for it.  
"What?" He looked back up at me with a vague flicker of hope in his artificial eyes.  
"Marcus, trust me, I _wish_ I didn't love you." At this point, it was as if I had no ability to lie. "When I learned you were the enemy, my priorities changed. I tried to convince myself that I didn't love you. Sure, I don't trust you when you say that you love me because you really seem to have two personalities, but that doesn't mean that my feelings have changed any."  
"Skai..." I pushed the boy away and grabbed the clothes so that I could go change.  
"This is getting too sentimental for my taste. I'm just going to go put on these clothes so that we can go to school."  
"We're not... going to school today." I turned to him, my now midnight hair flying perfectly like a model in an ad.  
"What do you mean?"  
"I'm really sorry Skai, but... we need to kidnap your Mr. Davenport."  
"Are you kidding me? Why? What good will that serve?"  
"It's my father's plan, not mine!" He seemed to be breaking a little bit. "He says that if we kidnap Mr. Davenport and show Adam, Bree, and Chase, then they'll come rushing here and he can capture them." Anger boiled through me.  
"You can't win, Marcus. You father lacks the strategy he needs. Adam, Bree, and Chase _will_ take him down."  
"Skai, go change now. You're digging yourself into a deep hole you won't be able to get out of."  
"Marcus-"  
" _Just go change_!" I jumped, once again shocked by Marcus' anger, especially right after such a sentimental moment. I dashed off to the secret staircase and quickly slipped on the skirt, shirt, jacket, and boots. I came out of the small area and Marcus handed me a bag, then grabbed me by the arm.  
"Let's go. Now." I remained silent as I was shoved into the back of the car and the evil Mr. Davenport drove off towards the old house. Even when we pulled up, I felt anything but comfort. Being here with Marcus and Douglas held nothing but hostility.  
"Why am I here?" Douglas turned to me with nothing but flashes of anger in his eyes.  
"You're here to be bait for my brother, of course."  
"He won't fall for it."  
"Oh yes he will." Marcus roughly grabbed my arm and held angrily onto my arm. "Because he's going to believe we kidnapped you from school and are holding you hostage." Douglas pulled out a gun to use as a prop in my fake kidnapping.  
"I'll never do this." Douglas chuckled and held up the gun.  
"Skai, you're an android. Tell me if you think this isn't a loaded gun after analyzing it." My system did as told, and a river of fear drowned me.  
_Warning: potential threat in proximity. Loaded gun within five feet of being.  
_"So, Skai, are we going to do as we're told now?" I sucked in a breath and nodded slowly, hating and dreading this moment.


	21. 20

Marcus held the gun against my left temple, but his hands were trembling, almost as if he couldn't take this. I looked at him for a few seconds, then shot my gaze away. Douglas slowly walked out into Mr. Davenport's view.  
"Douglas?" I heard him cry. "I thought you were dead!"  
"That's what I wanted you to think... and the FBI... and mom." My eyebrows furrowed at the last part of his sentence. "That woman does not stop calling."  
"How did you get in here?"  
"Your rinky-dink security system is no match for my genius. Also, I kicked in the door just because it's cool." Mr. Davenport lunged at his brother in an attempt to take him down, but Douglas grabbed his arm and almost pinned it behind his back, holding it in the air. "Why do you even bother? I've been kicking your butt since we were kids." At that moment, Marcus walked out, leaving me behind. Right before he came into Mr. Davenport's line of sight, he smiled at me and reached over to kiss my cheek.  
"Marcus?" The shock in Mr. Davenport's voice sounded all-too-familiar. "So Leo was right about you."  
"Hello, Mr. Davenport." The menacing tone in Marcus' voice made me shudder. "Or should I call you Uncle Davenport?"  
"He's been practicing that for days."Douglas sounded extremely proud of a robot that he could have just as easily programmed to act well.  
"I made drama club."  
"He's good, too. I keep telling him to try out for _Oklahoma._ "  
"Get off my back, dad!"  
"Will it kill you to take a dance lesson?" Mr. Davenport seized his opportunity.  
"Yeah, lesson number one: do-si-do." He grabbed Marcus by the arm and swung him around, but it only brought him closer to me.  
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Marcus warned.  
"Why not?" Marcus grabbed me roughly by the arm and grabbed the gun, holding it against my neck.  
"If you do, Skai gets her brains blown out."  
"Wha- Skai?" Mr. Davenport looked at me with sadness and concern. "How is she here?"  
"It's simple: I showed up at school, said I was you, and kidnapped her."  
"Mr. Davenport, run!" I cried. He didn't listen to me, however, and instead tried to fight back. Rather than shooting me, Marcus shot a beam at Mr. Davenport, just missing his head.  
"You gave him bionics?"  
"Yup, and see that mole in the back of his neck?" Marcus let go of me and pointed to the spot. "It's a wi-fi hot spot." Douglas walked over and got really close to his brother. "Come on, big brother. You're coming with me."  
"Yeah, that's not going to happen."  
"Oh, I think it is." Marcus shot a stun beam at Mr. Davenport, sending him crashing to the ground, incapacitated.  
"Mr. Davenport!" I cried. I tried to break free from Marcus' new grip, but he held on extremely tight.  
"I'm getting sick of her. Marcus, knock her out too."  
"Dad, I can't do that!"  
"Marcus... now!"  
"No, dad!"  
"Marcus!" He looked hesitant, but did as he was told. Before he did, he whispered to me.  
"I'm really sorry. You know I love you."  
"I love you, too." I had finally admitted it to him and myself. Darkness took over quickly and I collapsed to the ground.  
  
I woke up on the floor of the same old cage with Mr. Davenport standing there, looking at me with concern.  
"Skai, he put you in here too?" He asked like a child.  
"Well, I'd assume that's what you would do with a hostage," I joked, standing up.  
"Did they really kidnap you?" I paused and took in a deep sigh, deciding to tell him the truth.  
"They did kidnap me... probably around a week ago."  
"What?"  
"When I went on that date with Marcus, Douglas took advantage of that and kidnapped me."  
"Then how were you at the house this whole time?"  
"Your brother made a replica of me while I was asleep so you'd never know I was missing. He's had everything planned out for a while now. He wants to take you down." At that moment, Marcus walked downstairs and flashed two different looks. To me, he offered a sympathetic and loving smile, but to Mr. Davenport, his face turned to one of anger and hatred. He then walked over to the monitor and pressed a few buttons, footage of Adam, Bree, and Chase in the Lab on the screen.  
"Let's ask Eddy," Chase suggested.  
"Don't bother." Clearly they could see Marcus, and vice-versa. "I deactivated him hours ago."  
"Marcus!"  
"He got his own TV show? What channel is this?" I rolled my eyes at the typical Adam response.  
"How did he get-"  
"What do you want, Marcus?" Leo stepped in front of everyone else.  
"I'm just checking on my favorite bionic friends."  
"He knows we're bionic?"  
"I don't... I mean... That is... Wow..."  
"I heard you were looking for your daddy. He's right here. And if you ever want to see him again, I suggest you come get him."  
"Guys!" I screamed. "Don't fall for it, it's a-" The feed cut off, "-trap..." Marcus turned to look at us.  
"Let's hope they're on their way." Marcus turned off the cage, grabbed me and pulled me out, and then put the bars back up. "I need your daughter for a moment." He pulled me to the stairwell and held me against his chest. He rested his chin on the top of my head. "Are you holding up okay?"  
"I mean, besides you yelling at me sometimes and being trapped in a cage... yeah." He smiled and looked me in the eyes.  
"I'm glad to see your wit is still there." I wrapped my arms around him and sighed as he slowly rocked back and forth. "You know, despite everything that's happened, I'll always love you."  
"Yeah, I know."  
"And you...?"  
I kissed his cheek.  
"I love you, too." He rested his forehead against mine for a brief moment, then slowly moved down and kissed my lips. I smiled at him and took his hand. "We'll make this work, I promise."  
"I know we will. Now, I'm really sorry, but, uh..."He roughed up my hair and slapped me. "If you won't give me answers, then get back in the cage!" I looked at him, confused, and he motioned for me to go with it.  
"I will never reveal my family's secrets!" I cried back. Marcus grabbed me, kissed my forehead, then threw me out from the stairwell and dragged me into the cage. He lingered on holding my hand for a moment, then let go and walked up the stairs. I sunk down in the cage.  
_Can I keep doing this?_


	22. 21

Douglas walked downstairs and looked at Mr. Davenport and I in the cage, trapped like animals in a circus.  
"You know you're never going to get away with this," Mr. Davenport threatened.  
"Yeah, that's what you said when I stole twenty bucks from dad's wallet. Guess what? I got away with it. Boom!"  
"Oh no, no, no, no, _you_ do not go boom, _I_ go boom. That's my thing! Boom!"  
"Well, I guess I stole that, too. Just like you stole Adam, Bree, and Chase."  
"You what?" I cried.  
"I did not steal them. I was protecting them from you."  
"I found a way to use our bionic technology in humans, and you ripped it right out of my hands!"  
"You were going to make bionic soldiers and rent them to the highest bidder. You were going to use kids for evil purposes."  
"Hi, hello, I'm still not up to date on the whole 'stole Adam, Bree, and Chase' thing." They both ignored me and continued arguing.  
"You say that like it's a bad thing. I'm just trying to meet the needs of the my customers. It's not my fault they're all dictators and madmen." The monitor beeped, and I looked over to see Adam, Bree, and Chase standing there, trying to find the secret door. "What do you know? We've got company."  
"Trust me, they _will_ defeat you."  
"Ooh. I'm so scared. You forget I have a bionic weapon of my own. Marcus!" Marcus ran down the stairs, and after looking at me for a few moments, looked towards his dad.  
"Is it time?" A menacing look glinted in his eyes.   
"It is. Go welcome our guests." Marcus mouthed 'I'm sorry' to me, then ran out to where the three were. Douglas turned to us with a smirk. "Boom!" He walked back up the stairs to deal with some more business.  
"You don't even do it right!" I focused hard on the footage on the monitor. My heart pounded as I watched Adam, Bree, and Chase fight Marcus. He easily knocked down Adam and Bree, but Chase used some ability I had never seen before, and Marcus collapsed to the ground. Chase helped his siblings up, and they ran through the secret door. At first, I was relieved, but then I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye, and I saw Marcus get back up and walk through the doorway, following close behind. Douglas came back downstairs and pushed a button, playing some smooth jazz.  
"You know, for an unstable sociopath, your taste in music could be a lot better," Mr. Davenport scoffed at his brother.  
"You were in a boy band."  
" It was not a boy band. It was an A Capella group that just happened to be made up of boys." Adam, Bree, and Chase came racing down the staircase, and Douglas turned off the music.  
"Mr. Davenport!" Bree cried in relief.  
"Skai?" Chase asked. They all looked at me and their eyes widened.  
"Oh, goody. Everyone's here. Party time!" Marcus ran through the stairwell and smirked at his father.  
"I've secured the perimeter. They're ours now."  
"Mr. Davenport, what is going on?" Chase asked with confusion. "Who is this guy?"  
"Donny, you never told them about me? I am deeply offended. Adam, Bree, Chase... I'm your father."  
"What do you mean you're our father?"  
"Yeah, he's our father." Bree pointed to Mr. Davenport.  
"No, that's what he's been telling you."  
"Well, I don't know who you are, but you're going down." I'd never seen Adam so angry. They all lunged for Douglas, but before they could get even close to him, he pressed a button, and suddenly the three bionic siblings were standing next to me.  
"You mastered short-ranged teleportation before I did? I've been working on that for years!"  
"I know, I'm awesome."  
"You're still going down." Adam reached his arm out, but he quickly lowered it and looked at it as if he were contemplating something.  
"That's your arm, Adam," I said as if speaking to a three-year-old.  
"No. My super strength... it's gone." Bree tried running, but she ended up staying in place.  
"So is my speed." Chase raised his fingers to his skull and then lowered them in defeat.  
"I've got nothing."  
"That's because I've designed these lasers to block the signals to your bionic chips. That's right: daddy gave you toys, but he can also take them away." Marcus walked over and leaned against the wall, standing close to me. He smiled lightly at me, and I blushed and grinned at him, too.  
"Well, Marcus, we finally captured them. Actually, I captured them. Me, me, me, me, me."  
"You've got one of those too, huh?" I asked him in sympathy. Marcus reached his skinny hand and arm through some spaces in the bars and grabbed my hand. I grasped my fingers through his and smiled at him. Luckily, no one else noticed.  
"You have no idea," Marcus answered, in response to my earlier question. I giggled lightly, in hopes that none of the others would notice.  
"Come on!" Douglas snapped and Marcus released my hand and walked away. I sighed and watched him leave. "We've got work to do."  
"Mr. Davenport, why did that guy say he was our father?" All attention was focused on Chase for a moment, before it flickered over to Mr. Davenport.  
"Because technically, he is your father, and my brother."  
"What?" Bree's confusion almost made me laugh. It was so simple.  
"How is that even possible?"  
"Wait, so does this mean Chase is also my father?" All of us rolled our eyes at Adam's idiocy.  
"Years ago, Douglas and I started Davenport Industries together. It was great, we had a cute little lab. You know, not as good as the big lab I have now, but then we didn't nearly have as much money-"  
"Get to the point!"I cried.  
"Right. We developed bionics so that robots could do the jobs that were too dangerous for people. But, then Douglas went behind my back and implanted them into genetically engineered humans."  
"You mean us?"  
"No, Adam. The Green Bay Packers."  
"Your bionic chips were never designed to be interfaced with the human nervous system."  
"So that's why they glitch?"  
"Exactly."  
"Oh, and all these years, I thought it was just 'cause you're a terrible scientist." I slapped Adam on the arm and he quickly shut up.  
"Douglas also hid all kinds of secret codes in your chips. That's why you have all these mysterious new abilities popping up out of nowhere."  
"So, if your brother created us, how did we end up with you?"  
"He wanted to make you into cyber-soldiers of mass destruction. But I knew if I raised you in a safe environment, I could train you to be bionic heroes. So I built the lab and I had you there."  
"Wow, so everything we've ever known about ourselves, about you, it's all been..."  
"...one big lie.  
"Wow. This changes everything. Oh! Am I Jewish?"   
"Jesus, Adam..."  
"Please tell me there's another unexpected twist where I find out that I'm not related to him."  
"Oh, join the party, sister."  
"Oi, this one with the futzing and the complaining."  
"Look, I wanted to tell you guys, but I figured the less you knew, the safer you'd be."  
"But we trusted you. I mean, if you were lying about this, then, who knows what else you were lying about?"  
"Exactly." Adam yanked on Mr. Davenport's hair harshly.  
"Ow! What are you doing?"  
"He's not lying about the hair, just looks fake." Marcus walked downstairs without saying a word, then climbed into an orange capsule and shut the door. Douglas walked down right after that and smirked at the five of us trapped in the cage.  
"Hello, family and Skai."  
"We're not your family," Bree growled. "Let us out of here."  
"Yeah, you can't force us to be your cyber-soldiers."  
" Actually, I can, boy wonder. See, when I created you, I installed my Triton app on your chips. Once it's activated, I'll control your bodies, and your minds. You'll do whatever I want, whether it's start a world war, or some light housekeeping."  
"Oh, no way. You cannot make me vacuum!" Adam cried.  
"Why do you need us? You already have Marcus, and apparently a barber with a sense of humor."  
" Marcus is just an android. He's not sleeping, he's recharging. Trouble with androids is they burn out too quick. He won't make it to his 16th birthday."Oh, but don't tell him that: he thinks he's getting a car." The monitor beeped, and we all looked over to see footage of Leo standing outside the house with a wagon of weapons. "Oh, look who showed up to be a hero. And this one's not even bionic. I can take him out with the sprinklers."  
"Leave him alone. He's just a kid!"  
"A nosy kid who keeps getting in our way."  
"Stay away from him!"I screamed.  
" Don't worry, princess. I'm not gonna hurt him. Marcus wanted that privilege all for himself." Marcus stepped out from his capsule and looked at Douglas with a menacing smirk. "Your little friend Leo is back. This time, take care of him for good."  
"Done." Douglas held up his hand for a high-five, but Marcus just walked away.  
"Really dude? You're just going to leave your creator hanging like that?" I watched the footage in agony as Marcus and Leo bantered. However, it ended in Marcus shooting a ball of electricity at Leo, knocking him to the ground.  
"No!" We all cried.  
"Leo, poor Leo, he was trying to protect us." Bree sighed and placed her head in one of her hands.  
"He tried to warn us about Marcus and we ignored him."  
"When I get out of here, I'm taking you and Marcus down."  
"Good luck with that. Once I press this, it'll activate your Triton apps. Then I'll control you. Permanently."  
"No!" They all formed a shield around each other, shoving Chase to the front.  
"Stop!"  
"Do Chase first!" Douglas pressed the button over and over again, but nothing happened. Douglas almost threw down the remote in anger.  
"Marcus, did you put batteries in this thing?"  
"Ha! I went in their chips and put a block on your app a long time ago! Ooh, it is so good watching you eat it!" Mr. Davenport smacked his hand against the bars on accident, shocking him. "Ow!"  
"Very clever, Donny. But, I'll get around it. I've always been a better programmer than you! There, see? Only eight minutes till my cypher key decrypts your amateur block and activates the Triton app! What are you gonna do? Call Mommy? If you do, don't tell her I'm alive." I sighed and watched the timer count down in agony.  
_I have to do something,_ I thought.  
"Guys, there's only four minutes left until the block is decrypted. We have to get out of here."  
If we could find a way to deflect one of these beams, we could take out the control console and deactivate the laser source. I don't suppose anybody has a mirror on them." Mr. Davenport looked at Bree.  
"If any of us had a mirror on them, it would be you!" She pointed out.  
"There must be something we can use."  
"Well, I can't think on an empty stomach." Adam pulled out a granola bar from his boot, unwrapped it, and began eating it.  
"You brought a granola bar?"  
"Yup. Thanks for taking my suggestion on the snack holder."  
"That was supposed to be for a weapon."  
"Oi, this one with the weapons."  
"Oh, hey, we can use this as a reflective surface." Bree grabbed the wrapper from his hands and threw away the remaining part of the granola bar.  
"Yes, but it will never withstand the intensity of these beams. We need something to support it. Something hard and flat."  
"How about Adam's head?" I sighed. I knew what I had to do.  
"Or how about my hand?" Everyone looked at me in shock.  
"Skai, the electricity that would be sent through your system... it would kill you." I looked at the floor for a moment, then back up at all of them.  
"Yeah, I know, but... you guys are in danger. I'm willing to sacrifice myself to free you guys."  
"Skai, you can't." I could hear Bree choking on tears.  
"I have to. It's the only way to free you guys."  
"Skai-"  
"You can't... change my mind." I looked at all of them, then removed the artificial skin from my hand, revealing the wires and flat, metal skeleton.   
"Thank you all for taking me in and making me feel accepted. You really made me feel like I was family. Chase, I know we didn't get along the best, but I'm really going to miss you a lot. Adam, you may not be the brightest, but you're so funny. Thanks for always making me laugh. And Bree, I never would have survived living with three guys without you. Thanks for being the closest thing to a sister for me." Bree laughed and sniffled a bit, smiling at me. I wrapped the granola bar wrapper around my hand and aimed it towards the monitor, positioning it by the bars. Before I placed my hand on it, I turned back to them and sighed.  
"Tell Marcus I love him." I placed my hand on the bar and electricity shot through my spine. I screamed as pain ripped through me like a knife.  
_System overload. Cannot compute.  
_With a final spark, I collapsed to the ground, and after a little bit of twitching, blackness closed in, and my system shut down forever.  
_I love you Adam, Bree, Chase, Leo, and Mr. Davenport...  
...I love you to the moon and back, Marcus.  
Survive without me, my love. Keep on going.  
I'll see you in heaven, some time, some day.  
I'll wait for you._


End file.
